What to expect for Wearables this year and beyond. An outlook from Christian Stammel, Founder and CEO, WT | Wearable Technologies Group
Key elements for the Wearable Market:
- Consolidation of the market in 2017 at the wrist, growth rate of around 20%
- Market growth in Medical and Healthcare applications, ramping up even faster in 2018
- Strong growth in member alliance and huge interest from Asian market players in the WT | Wearable Technologies Group
- Industrial wearable applications will become more and more important
- WT / TÜV SÜD Certification program already adopted by major brands
The market is entering a consolidation phase in the area of wrist-worn devices.
2016 saw a massive shift in the ranking of the best-selling wrist-worn wearables worldwide. Apple lost its ranking due to strong competition from new and already established players. Fitbit still remains number 1 but Huami follows as a close second and is already a rising star, growing from 0 to more than 35 million devices sold. Most interesting is the fact that more than 50% of the market is dominated by companies that are not ranked in the top 5. “There is a huge potential for upcoming stars“ said Mr. Stammel in his keynote at the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference 2017 EUROPE on February 7.
Strong growth will be seen in the Healthcare sector and the sector for intelligent patches is a strong and sustainable business area. Mr. Stammel and his analysts in the Wearable Technologies Group are still convinced that the patches alone will account for 1/3 of the overall wearable market in 2020.
Mr Stammel added, “The WT Alliance and its membership program are growing and many multinational industrial giants joined the program in 2016. We are looking forward to a growing membership base in 2017 that will bring more innovation and activity into our working groups in the following sectors: Sports & Fitness, Healthcare & Wellness, Safety and Security and Gaming & Lifestyle. Use the chance to get actively connected, consulted and educated by WT group’s expert team.”
Last but not least he has already invited everyone to the next WT | Wearable Technologies Conference in San Francisco on July 25-26 this year and also pointed out that there are only three official global WT | Wearable Technologies Conferences. All other wearable conferences are not associated with the WT | Wearable Technologies Group and are also not recommended by him.
ISPO MUNICH 2017 – Wearables and Digital Gadgets from ISPO on Vimeo.
