Percentage of Women Using Smartwatches on the Rise, Says NPD
The share of females buying smartwatches is on the rise, growing to 42 percent in January from 35 percent in June 2016, blogged NPD. Income levels of smartphone users are skewing upward, with 42 percent of smartwatch owners earning more…
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than $100,000 per year, from 26 percent two years ago, said analyst Weston Henderek. In June 2016, 36 percent of smartwatches were bought by consumers earning less than $45,000 per year, which Henderek attributed to a high proportion of buyers in the service industry -- waiters, bar staffers and retail workers -- “who need a device to check incoming notifications when they can't reach for their phone during a shift.” Smartwatches are reaching more mainstream status at 13 percent penetration of U.S. adults, a 4 percentage point increase from a year ago, he said. Use cases for smartwatches are growing, but the top applications are still sending and receiving notifications and health and fitness tracking because it’s easy for consumers "to see value in these applications,” said the analyst. Some 19 percent of smartwatch owners manage smart home devices with their device, said NPD data. The recent relaxing of Food and Drug Administration rules on fitness devices could be "a boon” for smartwatch makers, Henderek said, and built-in cellular capability, enabling a watch to be used independently of a phone, will help advance the market.