Wearables as a shopping tool

E-COMMERCE Owners of wearables are very interested in using their smartwatches, fitness wristbands or data glasses to make mobile purchases, orders or bookings. This is the result of a study by Fittkau & Maass Consulting. Experts agree: in future, we will no longer carry our communication and transaction devices in our handbags or trouser pockets, but directly on our bodies. The so-called "wearables" in the form of smartwatches, fitness bracelets and data glasses represent a first step in this direction and are already among the industry's growth drivers. In the current study on the trend topic of wearables, the usage behavior and usage plans of German Internet users were researched in more detail, and the survey clearly shows the potential of wearables. For example, as a tool for e-commerce applications. Internet users see great added value in merging devices with e-commerce solutions and the technological prerequisites for this are already in place. These are ideal conditions for using wearables to promote sales in the future.

Wearables have great potential as a shopping tool. The wearable as a present navigation toolThe study also shows that the use as a constantly present navigation tool appears particularly attractive to most respondents: over half of internet users stated this as an interesting feature. In addition, 48% of Internet users would like to use a wearable to call up weather or traffic information or to read the news. In third place in the ranking of the most attractive usage options, 45% of respondents named the wearable as a device for receiving emails, text messages or WhatsApp messages.Wearables as a shopping companion or shopping toolAlthough wearables are primarily used by their current owners to measure and evaluate health and fitness data, more than one in five German internet users can imagine receiving information about special offers or sales via a wearable, according to the survey. Interest is even higher among smartwatch owners: just under 43% stated that they already use their device for mobile shopping or would like to do so in the future. The situation is similarly positive for wearable purchase planners: 44 percent of purchase planners of smartwatches and even 51 percent of purchase planners of data glasses show a very clear interest in shopping functions on wearables.Spread of wearables with high growth potentialThe prevalence of wearables in Germany is still relatively low. Compared to smartphones and tablets, there is a clear difference. While 77% of Germans own a smartphone and 51% a tablet, the number of wearables users is currently still in single figures: just under 5% of respondents own a fitness wristband, 2% a smartwatch and less than 1% data glasses. According to the survey results, 16% of internet users are planning to purchase one or more wearables.