Smartwatches are catching on in the marketplace, a new Gartner survey of the wearable market suggests. It predicts that some 40.5 million smartwatches will be sold worldwide during 2017, generating revenue of US$9.3 billion (A$11.77 billion).
Meanwhile the total market for all wearable devices, including watches and wristbands, as well as other gadgets will see 30.4 million devices sold, generating revenue of $30.5 billion.
“Smartwatches are on pace to achieve the greatest revenue potential among all wearables through to the end of 2021, reaching US$17.4 billion,” said Gartner research director Angela McIntyre.
“The overall ASP of the smartwatch category will drop from US$223.25 in 2017 to US$214.99 in 2021 as higher volumes lead to slight reductions in manufacturing and component costs,” McIntyre said.
But, she added, “strong brands such as Apple and Fossil will keep pricing consistent with price bands of traditional watches. (Apple Watch prices start at US$269 in the USA, A$399 in Australia.)
Two sub-categories that Gartner expects to perform well are children’s smartwatches and traditional watch brands. Gartner expects kids’ smartwatches to represent 30 percent of total smartwatch unit shipments in 2021.
Another growth area is seen as Bluetooth headsets, of which Gartner estimates 150 million will be sold in 2017, an increase of 16.7 percent.
Sales should increase to 206 million units in 2021, making them the most purchased wearable device.