The Wearables Market: Why Data Teams Must Embrace It

Wearable technology and the data gathered from it is becoming more and more popular, with new devices appearing on the market everyday – meaning businesses and organisations need to begin embracing the trend in order to stay ahead of competitors, Marketing Week reports. Whilst few marketers could foresee the monumental impact smartphones and tablets would have on the market, they have since become an essential element of marketing campaigns; it would seem that the same point has been reached in regards to wearable tech, the article notes – soon the technology will be an intrinsic element of marketing strategies.

A recent CSS Insight report predicts that sales of wearable technology is due to increase from 9.7 million in 2013 to 135 million in 2018, with wrist-worn devices expected to account for 87% of the devices sold – roughly 68 million smart watches and 50 million smart bands.

Consumer adoption of such devices is predicted to rise continually, despite concerns from some that the devices are considered unfashionable and socially unacceptable. In 2014 alone, shipments are predicted to increase by 129%.

A number of brands are therefore adopting wearable technology and incorporating the devices into their marketing strategies. This is key to staying relevant in a continually connected business environment, where consumers carry data with them at all times; brands must avoid jumping on the bandwagon, however, as incorporating wearable technology into a marketing strategy simply for the sake of it will not be effective. They must have a genuine reason for doing so and ensure the move is an appropriate fit for the brand.