You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Hi-fi Analysis Upd<strong>at</strong>e<br />
<strong>Wear</strong> <strong>it’s</strong> <strong>at</strong><br />
Sony SmartW<strong>at</strong>ch 3<br />
With 2015 widely tipped to be the year th<strong>at</strong> wearable<br />
tech becomes mainstream, retailers should make sure<br />
they don’t miss out on a sector th<strong>at</strong> already topped £300<br />
million last year. Simon King reports<br />
MANY pundits are saying th<strong>at</strong> 2015 will be<br />
the year th<strong>at</strong> wearable tech really takes<br />
off. With the market predicted to be<br />
worth £1.7 billion and Dixons Carphone reporting<br />
a 710 per cent increase in sales for this c<strong>at</strong>egory<br />
in the past year, it is an area th<strong>at</strong> independents<br />
ignore <strong>at</strong> their peril.<br />
The wearables market could, potentially, go massmarket<br />
this month with the launch of Apple’s muchanticip<strong>at</strong>ed<br />
Apple W<strong>at</strong>ch in nine countries, although<br />
Ireland will have to wait a short while to cash in on the<br />
Apple phenomenon.<br />
Of the launch, Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive,<br />
says: “Apple W<strong>at</strong>ch begins a new chapter in the way<br />
we rel<strong>at</strong>e to technology and we think our customers are<br />
going to love it. We can’t wait for people to start wearing<br />
Apple W<strong>at</strong>ch to easily access inform<strong>at</strong>ion th<strong>at</strong> m<strong>at</strong>ters,<br />
to interact with the world, and to live a better day by<br />
being more aware of their daily activity than ever before.”<br />
Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice-president of design,<br />
adds th<strong>at</strong> Apple W<strong>at</strong>ch, conceived, designed and<br />
developed as a singular product, merges hardware and<br />
software “like never before”.<br />
Analysts <strong>at</strong> Gartner say th<strong>at</strong> in 2015, more than half<br />
of the people shopping for a wearable device will opt<br />
for a smartw<strong>at</strong>ch r<strong>at</strong>her than an activity tracker.<br />
Brent Blum, a manager <strong>at</strong> Accenture Technology<br />
Labs, says: “The adoption of wearable technology is<br />
increasing <strong>at</strong> five times the r<strong>at</strong>e of mobile phone take-up,<br />
according to some figures. Why are we switching from<br />
the tablet or the mobile phone to something on our<br />
body? It’s about context.”<br />
With the growth potential of this market in mind,<br />
the key for electrical retailers is to get ranging and<br />
merchandising to appeal to wh<strong>at</strong> is likely to be a wide<br />
demographic – the in-store experience will be so<br />
important.<br />
Clued-up staff th<strong>at</strong> know the products and know<br />
how to sell them will be the order of the day – electrical<br />
retailers need to back the wearables c<strong>at</strong>egory and not<br />
lose out as they did with mobile phones, MP3 players<br />
and computers.<br />
Industry analysts in the global wearable technology<br />
market are forecasting th<strong>at</strong> the Apple W<strong>at</strong>ch will be<br />
the biggest wearable technology product launch ever<br />
seen. The possibilities for products such as the Apple<br />
W<strong>at</strong>ch are endless, with users being able to oper<strong>at</strong>e<br />
computer-based systems <strong>at</strong> home while on the move<br />
or even in another country.<br />
Integr<strong>at</strong>ed<br />
Apps are going to have to become far more integr<strong>at</strong>ed<br />
with physical systems, for example, the household’s<br />
thermost<strong>at</strong> or door-locking system, if people are to use<br />
wearable technology on a gre<strong>at</strong>er scale.<br />
The fitness market has been an early adopter of<br />
wearable technology with smart wristbands th<strong>at</strong> track<br />
the user’s heart r<strong>at</strong>e, weight lost and distance walked<br />
being now widely available. Users of sports and fitness<br />
products in the global wearable technology market have<br />
come to rely on such products to provide feedback on<br />
different training sessions and also working out which<br />
was the most effective.<br />
Electrical retailers must ensure they are not left behind<br />
by this market. If the pundits are right, 2015 is the year<br />
th<strong>at</strong> wearable technology will become a mainstream<br />
product th<strong>at</strong> is used by many different demographics<br />
for varying needs.<br />
Jawbone Up Move<br />
Daniel Todaro, managing director of field marketing<br />
agency Gekko, has some advice for retailers. He<br />
advises: “Staff need not only to understand the products<br />
well enough to sell them as standalone or add-on sales,<br />
but also become advoc<strong>at</strong>es themselves.<br />
“Think about giving your staff devices to use and<br />
live with for a sustained period. This could be done in<br />
partnership with a specific market leader like Fitbit or<br />
a rel<strong>at</strong>ive newcomer like Epson Sensing to immerse<br />
them in the wearables experience and improve their<br />
sales technique – as they do when training to sell<br />
other CE products in your store. It may also make<br />
your staff healthier, happier and more productive – a<br />
win-win for all.”<br />
The UK wearables market value was predicted to<br />
have hit £313.6 million by the end of 2014 and many<br />
shoppers had wearable devices <strong>at</strong> the top of their lists<br />
for Christmas 2014.<br />
The most popular segment in the global wearable<br />
technology market is the sports and fitness sector,<br />
which totalled 13m in 2014.<br />
ERTIreland<br />
Don’t miss out on your slice of the action.<br />
8 · April 2015<br />
www.ERTIreland.ie · ERT<br />
008_Analysis_ERTIr_April15.indd 8 30/03/2015 15:05
Change language