Parks Associates Announces Wearables Data before Mobile World Congress

Research firm Parks Associates announced today that 5% of U.S. broadband households use a smart watch with health and fitness tracking functions, while 8% use a digital pedometer or fitness/activity tracker. Tejas Mehta, Parks Associates’ research analyst covering the mobile and wearable markets, is attending Mobile World Congress next week in Barcelona to support the event and share the firm’s insights in wearable technology adoption trends and mobile consumer research.

“Though increased adoption of smartphones is fueling the mobile revolution that includes wearable devices, consumers' all-encompassing desire to use smartphones in all aspects of their lives is creating a dilemma for wearable OEMs,” Mehta said. “In the case of smart watches, these devices are regularly marketed as companion or ‘tethered’ smart products. Companies need to rally consumer interest in smart watches by educating them on the unique experiences and benefits of these and other wearables. Otherwise, the majority of consumers may not see the reason to purchase another device that has similar, if not the same, capabilities as their smartphone.”

Parks Associates’ consumer research from the fourth quarter of 2014 shows 7% of U.S. broadband households use a GPS watch to track a wearer’s location and 5% use a sports watch with a built-in heart-rate monitor. Parks Associates estimates more than 32 million U.S. consumers will actively track their personal health and fitness online or via mobile by 2016. U.S. sales of connected wellness and personal health products and services will exceed $8 billion in 2018.

“LG just launched its Urbane-branded smart watch, and HTC will likely announce its entrance into the wearables market this week. We will see a variety of new form factors at Mobile World Congress,” Mehta said. “The pressure on the industry now is to create unique value propositions for these devices that align with current consumer interests.”

Parks Associates will host the Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers, September 9-10, 2015, in San Diego. Follow the event on Twitter at @CONN_Health_Smt and #ConnectedHealth15.

The following digital health research is available from Parks Associates:

• Wearable Computing: Fitness and Health in Style
• Digital Health Consumers: A Lifestyle and Technology Segmentation
• Virtual Care: Technologies & Business Models
• Independent Living At Home: Second Edition
• Networked Medical Devices: Innovations and Business Models
• Prescribing Apps: Engaging Health Consumers
• Online Communication Tools for Healthcare

Whitepapers:

• Connected Health Opportunities for Service Providers
• The Real Healthcare Changes On The Way

To schedule an interview with a speaker or analyst, or to request specific mobile or health research, contact Holly Sprague at [email protected].

About Parks Associates: Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com
 

About Connected Health Summit: Consumer Engagement and Innovation

Connected Health Summit, hosted by international research firm Parks Associates, is an executive conference focused on the impact of connected devices and IoT healthcare solutions on consumers at home. In its tenth year, Connected Health Summit brings senior industry leaders together from all aspects of the consumer experience ecosystems to provide insights on new business models, IoT technologies, consumer behaviors, and deployments relevant to consumer healthcare solutions.

The conference features Parks Associates quarterly consumer readdresses opportunities for new solutions in the care giving and senior markets and the wellness markets. This includes smart home platforms, on-demand services, voice assistants, and wearables, to empower consumers, caregivers, and providers and to meet the growing demand for services in independent living, chronic care management, remote access to care, and wellness and fitness solutions. www.connectedhealthsummit.com

Follow the event on Twitter at @CONN_Health_Smt.

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