Market Segmentation:
By Type of Device: Fitness bands were most popular smart wearable smart devices sold in the US market accounting for ~% of the total sales. An estimated ~ million fitness bands were sold in the US market. Fitbit leads the market in this segment with Garmin being the second largest player on the basis of volume sales. Smart watches(~%) were the second most demanded wearable device in the US market with an estimated sales volume of ~ million in 2016. Smart eyewears and other products such as smart clothes, heart monitors, Elvie, blood monitors and other specific health parameter monitoring devices contributed ~% of the total demand.
By Type of Distribution Network: Online retail accounted for majority of the smart devices sold in the US market. In 2016 an estimated ~% of the total sales executed in the US wearable market was through online portals such as Amazon and company websites. Crowd funding websites also made small contribution to the online sales. An estimated ~ million devices were sold on online platforms. Company outlets of Apple Samsung Sony Garmin and others contributed ~% of the total sales by volume and equal number were sold by organized retail stores such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy and others. ~% of the devices were sold through others channels such as independent retail stores, pharmacies, corporate sales and others.
Market Share of Major Players
Fitness Band: Fitbit was the leading player in the US fitness band market. It managed to sell an estimated(~%) of the total fitness band sold in the US in 2016. Promotional deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday helped the company to increase its sale in terms of volume. Garmin was the second largest player. Its Vivofit fitness band, Vivo HR and HR + are some key products. Other major players contributed ~% of the total sales by volume. These mainly included Jawbone, Samsung, Mi Band and other small players.
Smart Watch: Apple emerged as the leading player in smart watch segment accounting for more than half(~%) of the total smart watched sold. Apple watch introduced series 2 in September 2016 and accounted for majority of the sale in the last quarter of 2016. Samsung Gear were second most popular smart watches in the US accounting for ~% of the total sales in 2016. Traditional watch companies such as Tag Heuer, Fossil also made significant contribution in terms of revenue as their watches are priced at the premium. Minor contribution was made by Pebble, Motorola, Garmin and others. Together they accounted for ~% of the total sales.
Trends and Developments
Technological amalgamation has limited the distinction among the devices. More and more features are integrated into smart watches which makes it easier to replace the fitness trackers. Similarly, it is expected that smart eyewear may erode the share of smartwatch in future.