In a world where technology evolves exponentially, the wearable tech industry is growing rapidly each year.

As a matter of fact, at this year’s 2024 CES show, new AI-powered headphones designed for people who work out or practice a sport are hitting the market, giving them motivational speeches and health stats. There are also portable air conditioners that runners can wear around their necks to help them stay cool under the scorching sun.  

This leads us to think that the next innovations could be anything—no guess is too wild!
 

We think it’s safe to say that wearable technology is mostly popular because of its convenience.

You can store your smart ring or smartwatch on your nightstand or even keep it on all the time. It provides easy access to loads of health data about yourself with just one click. This convenience extends to others around you as well. It’s not unimaginable to think that healthcare providers could soon have real-time access to your data, allowing them to offer better care when you visit them. Employers and employees could also benefit from having access to some data, helping them identify where to invest in health and wellness at the office and online.

Take Jessie Malone, a 35-year-old woman from New York, as an example. Jessie has a compelling story about the benefits of wearables.

According to the Daily Mail, this woman was saved by her smartwatch after a bike ride. She was suffering from a heart condition and was unaware of it. She went to the emergency room after her watch alerted her that her heart rate was too high. There, doctors asked her a startling question: had any of her relatives ever died suddenly without explanation? This alarming question highlighted the gravity of her situation. Tests revealed that she had a critical heart condition causing her heart to beat excessively. Fortunately, a minor surgical procedure was all it took to treat the condition.

Her smartwatch, unknown to her, played a crucial role in this life-saving intervention.

This interconnectivity leads to another factor contributing to the popularity of wearable tech and fitness apps: gamification. Indeed, some apps connect to your wearable device and creatively engage you in fitness challenges. For instance, there are apps that tell you where you could hypothetically be on a journey from The Shire to Mordor based on the number of steps you’ve taken in a month. Another app might show you how many zombies you’ve outrun by covering a certain number of miles!

In summary, the emphasis on mental health, convenience, and gamification is making a big splash in the world of wearables, and we’re all in. And it’s not just us—U.S. consumers are adopting wearable tech steadily. In fact, according to our Health and Wellness Toolkit, when members of our health and wellness online community were asked about their intent to use wearable tech this year to meet their health goals, 41% said yes. 

But how and when will they use them? Well, just as there are an array of different options, there are an array of answers to this question.

Members of our proprietary Health and Wellness online community seem to use their wearables at all times of the day. From morning, when you exercise and need to track your heart rate, to lunchtime, when your smartwatch can track your nutrition, to nighttime, when you play games or meditate before bed, incorporating wearables into your day is not just a trend—it’s a lifestyle

However, approximately one-third of people believe their data is not private and secure, and 30% think their wearable devices do not accurately track and measure health and activity levels.   

This means there is still a place for new players to create products or innovate and meet these customers’ needs. Individuals are willing to invest in their wearable devices as they are valued not only for their health monitoring capabilities but also for being seen as fashion accessories. 

For the other two-thirds who think their data is private and secure, there is a keen interest in wearables that make personalized product and service recommendations. In fact, as many as 56% of our health and wellness community members who plan to use wearables this year are interested in receiving personalized product and service recommendations based on information tracked by their wearable devices. 

These customized and optimized offers can potentially transform the way people shop for and purchase health & wellness products or other related items.

In conclusion, wearables are here to stay and will become even more customizable and effective for everyone. Beyond their current applications in health and wellness, wearables have the potential to revolutionize the medical industry itself. Who knows, they might become so mainstream that we will look back at the 2020s and wonder how we managed to stay healthy without them.  

That’s why it’s crucial to understand why and how people currently use these tools so that we can innovate for the future. 

To get started, download our latest Health and Wellness Toolkit and discover the trends shaping the industry in 2024!