Market researcher International Data Corporation (IDC) has released a study about the global wearables market, and it maintains the sector will grow by about 15% in 2020.
This is surprising to some, considering the impact the coronavirus has played on buying habits over the past year.
The biggest part of this market includes the “hearables” category, which consists of smart audio devices with more advanced features and is worn in a person’s ears.
The number of wearables globally will reach 396 million units by the end of 2020 according to the IDC.
This is up from last year’s number of 345.9 million units. The IDC called the need for the hearables devices as a “near-record” as far as overall demand.
According to the data, hearables accounted for 59.2% of the total wearables market, watches were 23.1%, wristbands were 17.1%, and everything else was 0.1%.
The report also concludes the number of total wearables will be as many as 631.7 million shipments by 2024. This represents a fairly significant increase in that four year period of more than 200 million more shipments.
This demand is quite likely to continue through the end of the year after a number of companies have announced more new products, including Amazon, Fitbit, and Apple.
In particular, Fitbit is in the middle of a possible acquisition by Google in a move that would certainly increase these numbers even further in the coming years.
The increase is also occurring as accessing online streaming content such as music and podcasts becomes increasingly easier.
It is also important to note that many devices are moving towards Bluetooth technology for listening to audio and are moving away from the simple headphone jack.
Another reason for the increase in wearables is likely due to the popularity of health and fitness-related apps. One of the recent products Apple released is the Fitness+, which integrates well with the Apple Watch.
IDC research director asserted, “Wearable devices and services will evolve together in the coming quarters. Wearables are the perfect device to collect user data and services provide guidance and actionable insight.”
IDC also maintains more wearables will be purchased when there are more services that combine wearables with fitness.
This also includes what will likely be a move in the near future to increase the focus on fitness in the hearables sector.
Additionally, wristbands have far less technological capability than the watches or hearables and are the most likely to not continue to see growth in the same way.
It is likely the popularity of hearables and smart audio headphones along with other wearables will continue to increase as the technology improves.
This should mean there are more products in the market and a wider variety for consumers to choose from in the near future.
