It is funny that just a couple of years ago, the term ‘wearables’ was nowhere to be found in our vocabularies… true, we have had calculator watches since the 1980’s and Bluetooth headsets have been with us since the 1990’s, but nobody thought of them as ‘wearables’. Now we have wearable technology, wearable devices, fashion technology or fashion electronics that include clothing and accessories that incorporate some type of computing or advanced electronics technology. The original wearables incorporated some practical features or functions, but now they can also lean towards style – some are like buying fine piece of jewelry and prices are creeping up as well.
A recent “Connected Life” study conducted by Nielson shows that Canadians are not only embracing the new technology, but that 40% are also knowledgeable about the function of wearables. The Connected Life study also looked at smart home and smart auto technology as well. 85% are most familiar with smart home technology and 52% even knew what it did. 79% of Canadians are aware of Auto technology and wearables and 49% of those claim that they even know what smart auto means, while 40% claimed that they understood wearable technology.
The term ‘wearables’ covers a broad range of products – smartwatches, heath bracelets, heart rate monitors, blood pressure sensors and come in many different forms – bras, socks, watches, headsets, and more. Smartwatches are the most popular and at the top of the list with 16% of the people surveyed already owning a smartwatch, which equates to about 3% of the Canadian population. The survey also revealed that 4% of the population is going to buy a smartwatch before the end of the year – a great Christmas gift for yourself or a loved one. A full 9% said they will be buying a smartwatch within a year – showing that there are some early adopters that will upgrade as well as those that are waiting until the third or fourth generation come out.
The study also asked what features users find most useful on a smartwatch. Text Messages Notifications was number one at 54%, followed by E-mail Notifications and Fitness Tracking tied at 43%. Making and Receiving phone calls was at 36%, games at 11% and other features were at 13%. There were even 23% that said they wanted a smartwatch to tell ‘The Time”… what a novel idea.
One thing is for sure – when it comes to wearables, home, and auto smart technologies, the public needs to be educated about how these technologies are of a value to them. The more familiar potential customers are with this new technology, the less they will be afraid of them, realize what they are capable of, and possibly purchase one. Please hit us up on our Google+ Page and let us know if you own a smart wearable or are planning on purchasing one… as always, we would love to hear from you.