Market research firm Tractica believes that we’re on the cusp of an explosion in the wearable tech market. In a new report, the firm asserts that the nascent wearables market taking shape with the smartwatch is going to usher the broader smart clothing and body sensor market into the mainstream.
In its report, the firm notes that smart clothing – encompassing products such as shirts with biometric sensors – is currently being led by athletes keen to make use of wearables’ valuable biometric data. And while fitness-tracking devices have proven popular among a similar segment of consumers, the growing prevalence of smartwatches in the wake of the Apple Watch will help to introduce consumers in the mass market to the advantages of wearable tech. The bottom line, Tractica says, is that smart clothing shipments will increase from 140,000 units to 10.2 million units between 2013 and 2020
Meanwhile, the body sensor market is undergoing what Tractica labels “a transition” as unit volumes for heart rate monitors drop while new devices like headbands and pregnancy monitors emerge. The firm expects body sensor shipments to decline from 3 million units to 1.2 million between 2013 and 2017, and to pick up again in the few years after that, rising to 3.1 million units by 2020.
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