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Even though smartwatches have been sold for some time, the wearable market is still at the embryonic stage, according to data from a Kantar Worldpanel ComTech survey – going against a previous report from CCS Insight which notes rapid growth in the past 12 months.

Among smartwatches in use today, 1% were bought in 2013, with the figure rising to 14% for 2014. Additionally, only 3% of Americans aged 16 and higher currently possess a smartwatch or a smartband.

Despite this, market players see immense potential in wearables. The primary inhibitors to smartwatch adoption among Americans are price and a perceived lack of benefit from the device. About half (52%) of consumers are not aware of the advantage of using a smartwatch as opposed to not being aware of how they function or what they offer. Others (33%) hold that their smartphone already caters to all their needs.

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech chief of research Carolina Milanesi said: “Considering the poor job vendors have done thus far in defining the smartwatch category it is surprising that 52% of those interviewed were able to identify what these devices are: something you wear like a watch, and that lets you run apps.”

Among respondents aware of the functionality of smartwatches, 92% associated Apple to the product. This represents an overwhelming lead for the iPhone-maker as Fitbit, in second place, was at 47%. Google (34%) beat Samsung (33%) to third place.

Milanesi concluded: “With wearables, the purchase decision will be greatly impacted by the absence of the kind of subsidy people have become accustomed to with smartwatches. Smartphone buyers have been protected from the actual cost of their device, but they will see the true cost of wearables from the outset.”

An earlier projection from eMarketer on the US wearables market argues that nearly 35% of the populace and close to 40% of Americans online will use wearables by 2019.

You can find more about the report here.

 

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