A new report released by US-based electronics market research company Cackle suggests that smartwatches are priced too high for most consumers and their appeal is limited.
The latest 47-page Smartwatch Research report focuses on a number of smartwatch and activity tracking brands, including Apple, Garmin, Pebble, Samsung, Motorola and Jawbone.
Taking a macro look at who is buying smartwatches and why, their functions, usability and consumer feedback on price, colour and apps, the report has found that – in North America in particular – smartwatches should ideally retail for under US$100 (£76). Anything more and the customer base is limited.
In a statement from the report it is noted: “Smartwatches today are too expensive for today’s consumer. If an OEM is looking to retail a smartwatch for over $250 in North America, it probably will not sell very well. Ideally, it would retail for under $100. We believe the only people who will be buying anything above $250 really are the wealthier individuals; the rest of the population will shy away from expensive gadgets unless there is another element to them.”
The report also outlines consumer feedback, stating that ‘smartwatches are considered by many to be little more than ‘toys’ for ‘gadget geeks’ and certain ‘early adopters’ in the product life cycle’.
The study also found the value that smartwatches are perceived to add to the wearer’s lifestyle is negligible, such as being able to glance at their watch and quickly see an e-mail.
Cackle has also studied the latest market trends in wearable tech, virtual reality and smart jewellery.
Wristwatches are a 100 year old phenomenon. The mobile phone has a shorter gestation but have several times the real estate and a thousand times the engagement. To combine the two and still offer cosmetic differences seems a logical step. The bicycle is a 100 year old phenomenon. The internal combustion engine seems an obvious next step. But cyclists motorcyclists are feral and hunted from our roads by planners and a police force wanting to shut down both forms of transport. The electric bike seems to be a logical next step that escapes the gravity of transport.
Cars are one, but every enterprise has those for or against and cars are too numerous to be punished for the insouciance of travel. Look to see who is denying watches..smart watches from the oxygen of success and it is the old, the inefficient and the dyed in the wool we can make more of worse for everyone. Look to see who is promoting watches…a number that hovers above a break-even point , a pivotal, gem denying syncretic master of disguise and mimicry for whom a patent is not a callous stab at private means but a industry endearing embrace for all.