BY Courtney Huckabay
According to global information provider, The NPD Group, the connected digital fitness device category has continued to see growth in the first quarter of 2016 (January – March) as dollar and unit sales of the devices grew 40 percent and 27 percent, respectively, versus Q1 2015.
Through the end of Q1 2016, Fitbit remained the leading brand in the connected digital fitness device category, accounting for 81 percent of U.S. market dollar sales. Since 2014, the company has been the market leader in the category, and in Q1 2016 saw 50 percent dollar growth compared to the year prior, while the rest of the market grew 10 percent.
AudienceSCAN found 6.1% of adults intend to buy a fitness tracking band, watch or other wearable in the next 12 months.
“Increased distribution has led to many more buying opportunities for consumers, but the digital fitness device market has become more diverse in the past year,” said Ben Arnold, executive director, industry analyst for The NPD Group. “Devices have added new capabilities and there is a wide selection of products at different prices and form factors for consumers to choose from. Because of this, we’ve seen digital fitness device sales rapidly grow and become a mainstream technology product.”
Retailers focusing on the health benefits of these wearables should know that 18.1% of Fitness Tracker Shoppers think TV is the best source for health/medical information, according to AudienceSCAN data.
According to the latest NPD Connected Intelligence Consumers and Wearables survey data, Weston Henderek, director, Connected Intelligence stated, “Activity Tracker penetration in the U.S. has increased substantially from 11 percent in Q1 2015, to 16 percent of the adult population today.” Henderek also noted that ownership of these devices is expected to reach at least 19 percent or in excess of 41 million by the end of this year, according to the Connected Intelligence Industry Overview and Forecast report.
AudienceSCAN research says ads and/or coupons in mailboxes for fitness trackers will entice 45% of shoppers to take action.
AudienceSCAN data is available as part of a subscription to AdMall for Agencies, or with the SalesFuel API. Media companies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.