No signs of slowing. That’s according to a new report from IDC regarding the future of wearables.
International Data Corporation (IDC) expects the popularity of wrist-worn devices – including watches and wrist bands – will continue to drive the wearables market forward. Meanwhile, lesser-known wearable products, such as clothing and earwear, will experience market-beating growth in the years to come.
According to a new IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker forecast, vendors will ship a total of 121.7 million wearable devices this year, marking a 16.6% increase from the 104.4 million units shipped in 2016. The wearables market is forecast to maintain this pace of growth with shipments reaching 229.5 million units in 2021, resulting in a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.2%.
“We expect the most innovation and development in the wearables market to take place on the wrist,” said Ramon T. Llamas, research manager for IDC’s Wearables team. “It’s the ideal location for users to collect, view, and interact with data and applications, and the point to execute tasks like responding to notifications or communicating with other people and devices. Layer on top of that varieties in style, design, segment, and feature set, and wristworn wearables are poised to remain well out in front of the market.”
For more insight, check out IDC’s report here.
