Thirteen percent of consumers plan to purchase a health or fitness wearable device within the next year, according to a survey of 2,000 consumers from Acquity Group, a subsidiary of Accenture.
Acquity Group questioned consumers about all internet of things (IoT) technologies, which the company defines as everyday devices that connect to the internet through embedded sensors and computing power.
The company found that of all the wearable technologies addressed in the survey, fitness wearables will likely see the most growth in the short term. More than 30 percent of consumers plan to buy one in the next five years. The second most popular wearable among consumers was the smartwatch. While 5 percent of consumers plan to purchase a smartwatch in the next year, 23 percent plan to purchase one in the next five years.
Consumers may be interested in smartwatches in part because, in the past year, several popular brands have announced smartwatches. Earlier this year, Samsung launched three smartwatches, the Gear Fit, Gear 2, and Gear 2 Neo. Then, in September, Apple announced Apple Watch, its smartwatch -- this was likely the most high profile launch. Later that month, Basis Science, the wearable company that was acquired in March by Intel’s new devices group, unveiled a smartwatch, the Basis Peak fitness and sleep tracker. And most recently, activity tracker maker Fitbit added a smartwatch to its line of fitness trackers.
The Acquity Group survey found that the category of health and fitness technologies least likely to catch on is smart clothing and heads-up displays. Only around 3 percent of consumers expect to purchase these devices in the next year. In the next five years, 14 percent of consumers plan to adopt smart clothing and 16 percent plan to adopt a headset wearable device.
For all wearable technology, the survey found that 30 percent of consumers don't see the value in such devices, 26 percent are concerned with the price, and 19 percent are concerned with privacy.