Smart clothing to drive fitness wearable revenue

©Sergey Skripnikov via 123RF

Meanwhile, falling prices for traditional consumer wearables will see these products overtaken, posting revenue in 2025 of $5.3bn, almost half that of clothing.

The new research, Health & Fitness Wearables: Market Size, Trends & Vendor Strategies 2020-2025, notes that wearables have been diversifying for several years, with numerous alternatives to wristbands. Integrated fitness clothing has developed to analyse cadence, exercise form and precise positioning, appealing to fitness enthusiasts and professional sports teams.

Thanks to these features, smart fitness clothing is shown to be the fastest-growing fitness form.

Future is in personalised data

The research found that disruptive innovators are increasingly including personalised health and fitness insights for long-term progress. Vendors such as Moov, Whoop and Athos have taken advantage of this approach, threatening the established position of leading manufacturers.

Established players have, as yet, failed to change their strategies, emphasising breadth of features over personalised offerings. Juniper Research anticipates that established players will lose substantial market share without incorporating this trend, and expects Fitbit’s shipments to drop by 7.5% between 2020 and 2025.

Under Armour reveals its vision for sportswear in 2020

Lauren Hartzenberg  11 Mar 2020

Market evolution opens doorways to subscription fees

The report notes that the emphasis on providing insights and long-term diagnostics means that wearables are no longer just a hardware proposition, making subscription options a more palatable concept.

As the market changes, additional opportunities in terms of business approach will be available to vendors. Traditionally, subscription models have not been an effective approach to the health and fitness wearables industry, but devices providing coaching and feedback can change this.