(c)iStock.com/hh5800

A survey from experiential agency Fizz Experience has found while almost half of UK respondents were aware of the Apple Watch, only one in five had adequate knowledge of the product.

The research, which was conducted before the (second) unveiling of the Apple Watch, found almost half of Britons were willing to spend up to £111 on wearable tech. This equates to a potential £35m windfall across the UK adult population, however it stops a little short of the pricing of the Apple Watch, with the gold edition starting in the UK at an eye-watering £8,000.

The survey also examined buying habits regarding wearable technology. Consumers are more likely to research online then buy offline, with the most important facets of the in-store experience the ability to touch, feel and try products (41%), in-store demonstrations to get a better understanding (31%), and expert knowledge from store staff (28%).

Yet it’s the gap between awareness and knowledge of wearable products which is the most eyebrow-raising. Defining knowledge of a product as identifying “how it will work and what it can be used for”, 48% had awareness of the Apple Watch, but only 21% had knowledge.

It was a similar story for both the Sony SmartWatch (33% awareness, 16% knowledge) and the Samsung Galaxy Gear (22% awareness, 12% knowledge).

Commenting on the research findings, Fizz PR manager Andy Youings wrote in a company blog post: “There is huge growth predicted in the wearable technology sector in 2015 with some big launches planned.”

He added: “Considering how new the concept of wearable technology is to the general public it is extremely encouraging to see such a high percentage of Britons wanting to invest in a piece of wearable technology.”

Perception of wearable technology often provides interesting research results. Juniper Research found in November that smart glasses were suffering from a “slow path to social acceptance”, which arguably played a part in the demise of the first generation Google Glass in January. In January 2014, two thirds of UK respondents admitted they would be too embarrassed to wear the product.

 

Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this and sharing their use-cases? Attend the co-located IoT Tech Expo, Blockchain Expo, AI & Big Data Expo and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series with upcoming events in Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam and explore the future of enterprise technology.