Vanson Bourne Research Report: Wearable Tech

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It’s o�cial, wearable tech is poised to become mainstream in 2015. With smart phones owned by 8 in 10 respondents, and nearly 9 out of 10 of these respondents using their smart phones every day, there’s a clear case to be argued that the market is ready for the next ‘big thing’.

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http://www.vansonbourne.com/research-insights/wearable-technology/

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Indeed, of the 1000 UK consumers we interviewed 1 in 10 already own a piece of wearable tech and nearly one third are planning to buy some form of wearable tech in the next two years.

That’s a signi�cant number who will be looking increasingly closely at what’s available or coming up on the market. So there’s going to be a lot of pressure and high expectations on manufacturers to bring the right product to market.

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Of those who already own a wearable tech device, age proves to be a signi�cant factor, with popularity amongst 26-35 year olds double that of any other age group.

Income is also important: nearly a third of those earning over £100K own a smart watch and a quarter own a smart wristband, which is signi�cantly higher than the other income brackets.

Gender though is of little relevance, with negligible di�erence in the male and female ownership levels across all ages and incomes.

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Currently the most popular wearable tech is smart wristbands and smart watches with 58% of smart watch owners and 47% of smart wristband owners using them every day.

However, despite this even split in current ownership it’s smart watches which are the most sought after pieces of wearable tech with over a third of male respondents and almost a quarter of female respondents intending to buy one in the next two years.

The good news for manufacturers is that 9 out of 10 of current owners say their wearable tech device is important to their lives with almost half going even further to say that it is vitally important to their lives. This bodes well for future sales as our research shows that 9 out of 10 of those planning to buy an item of wearable tech believe that it will play an important role in their life.

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When considering whether to buy wearable tech, the ability to perform multiple tasks is the most important factor for nearly a �fth of respondents. Conversely almost the same number see the ability to perform a single dedicated practical task as most important, so manufacturers are going to struggle to please everyone.

With such high smart phone ownership, users are undoubtedly accustomed to internet connectivity and they want the same for their wearable tech.

Over three quarters of respondents see the ability to connect to the internet as important with 17% seeing it as the most important factor. Just under 9 in 10 respondents feel that an item of wearable technology should have internet connectivity, and the majority expect wireless connectivity while out and about.

Interestingly when smart phones already o er this functionality and most current wearable tech is an ‘add-on’ rather than a replacement to the smart phone, access to email and internet connectivity are the two capabilities that are most likely to encourage a respondent to buy a wearable tech device. The other sought-after functions are also all available on smart phones. Despite this half of respondents would be encouraged to buy if the device told the time, and slightly less than half would be encouraged to buy if the device had an in-built camera and could store and play music.

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That said, there are some high expectations for wearable tech from those planning to buy. 8 out of 10 respondents believe that wearable tech could help them in their day-to-day life and 45% feel it can do this by helping to organise their lives. 44% expect internet searches to be not only faster but also more accurate and around a third see wearable tech as a way to better entertain themselves, a �gure which rises to 2/5 in 18-25 year olds.

Despite major press coverage and rising ownership of wearable tech, it’s surprising that the research shows marginally more respondents still see this technology as just a fad than those who don’t.

It’s not di�cult to track where this scepticism might originate when wearable tech giants such as Google appear to be retreating. Only recently Google announced that mainstream sale of Google Glass to consumers would cease and, although they say the project isn’t dead, it does mean that one of the most ambitious wearable tech projects has just taken a step back.

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Looking at other challenges to wearable tech ownership we discovered a couple of rather predictable aspects: expense and battery life.

These are areas that will both improve as time and adoption increases, though in the short term at 50% and 40% respectively highlighting these as challenges, these are issues that manufacturers need to address, particularly as around a third of respondents feel that smart phones can already do everything they need anyway. If wearable tech is to be anything more than an add-on or enhancement to technology already being widely used, it’s going to need to beat the smart phone at its own game.

In terms of battery life, there are some practical considerations to consider – if people’s wardrobes are going to start �lling up with wearable tech, how are they going to keep them all charged without having piles of clothing sitting by plug points? This might seem a minor point, but 25% of respondents highlighted keeping multiple items charged as a concern, so it shouldn’t be dismissed.

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We noted earlier that a signi�cant number of respondents expect their device to be connected to the internet, even when they are out and about. So it’s not surprising that 40% are worried about hackers stealing their personal information.

Indeed, security of the data produced by wearable tech, which can be very personal data, is a major concern with nearly three quarters of respondents worried about it.

Around 4 out of 10 highlighted various concerns with how the data is stored particularly, with the use of cloud ever increasing, the worry that they may not know the physical location of where the data is stored.

It’s clear therefore that there needs to be transparency as to where the data is being stored and what the data is being used for, otherwise there are going to be trust issues.

With nearly 6 out of 10 respondents also worried that wearable tech makes it easier for companies to spy on them, data security is de�nitely a concern that needs to be addressed.

But by who? Over half see the security of the data generated by wearable tech as the joint responsibility of the manufacturer and the user, compared with over a third that see it as mainly the manufacturer’s responsibility and a minority of 9% who see it as the user’s duty to ensure security.

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With fashion and status undeniably important in the smart phone market, it’s understandable why a growing number of wearable tech manufacturers are collaborating with fashion houses and startups are focusing on design �rst. But is it what the wearable tech consumer actually wants?

Apparently not just yet. Despite wearable tech being arguably the most personal technology we’ve seen to date (after all you put it on, you don’t just carry it about), it’s not yet a fashion statement for our respondents with only half rating the device being fashionable as an important factor in their purchase decision and more than two thirds instead wanting their device to blend in with everyday clothing.

Furthermore, a massive 8 out of 10 are concerned with comfort, and two thirds think a good or �attering �t is important but perhaps surprisingly, given the innovative and gadget-like nature of these devices, only just over half want their wearable tech to look like advanced technology.

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Could this be because to date most wearable tech devices have had a health and �tness focus, therefore restricting it to niche market status?

Certainly, if you believe the hype then wearable tech has the ability to turn us all into �tness fanatics and the potential market for �tness tech is undoubtedly there. Two thirds of respondents currently do less than 8 hours of physical activity a week, and around 4 in 10 do less than 4 hours a week.

Furthermore, nearly two thirds of respondents agree that wearable tech is an easy method to help them improve their health and �tness and nearly a third believe that wearable tech can help them get �tter with heart rate monitoring, physical �tness trackers and calorie monitoring seen as the most practical �tness functions.

However, only around half see a �tness-related function as important when considering whether to buy a device.

Perhaps then the future mass-market success of wearable tech lies in what other functionality these devices can provide. As major players such as Intel and Apple enter the market and with the much-anticipated Apple Watch due to hit the shelves by April of this year, will this be the catalyst to take wearable tech beyond �tness users to the mainstream? With Apple’s track record in digital music, smartphones and tablets there’s certainly a strong evidence to suggest it will.

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Survey conducted in November 2014 by Vanson Bourne. Respondents were 1000 consumers in the UK.

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Vanson Bourne Research Report: Wearable Tech