Endeavour Partners' Consumer Behavior Study Points to Uncertain Future of Wearable Devices

CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwired - Aug 15, 2014) -  Today Endeavour Partners, a strategy consulting firm that enables companies to maximize the value of mobile and digital technology, revealed findings from its second consumer behavior study, which examines five major themes that will determine the success and mass-market adoption -- or ultimate demise -- of the smart wearable market. The study follows the firm's inaugural January 2014 wearables report, which addressed critical behavioral factors linked to wearable device adoption and engagement. 

"Throughout the first half of 2014 we saw the wearables market evolve at a heroic pace," said Dan Ledger, principal at Endeavour Partners. "However, the future mass market success of wearable technology, particularly in the next two to three years, is far from guaranteed. The degree and speed at which five overarching changes take place will have a significant impact on the rate at which wearable technology truly becomes a mass market product category and delivers sustained benefit to consumers."

More than 1,700 consumers were studied in the company's new report, Inside Wearables (Part 2). Findings show that wearable device acquisition rates continue to surge -- tripling within the last six months. Yet approximately one-third of studied consumers have abandoned their smart wearable devices within six months of purchase. Additionally, the industry continues to struggle to deliver products and services that provide sustained benefit to the mass market.

Endeavour Partners' in-depth study explores the following developments that have the potential to significantly impact the industry over the next two to three years:

• Improvements in the fundamental consumer value proposition. Wearables will begin addressing a broader and more interesting set of consumer problems than the devices today; consumer health is going to be particularly important and significant.
• Improving and increasingly diverse styles and design aesthetics will have a wider appeal than the technology-forward "gadgety" devices in the market today.
• Large OEMs entering the space with resources and capabilities have the potential to catalyze the mass market for wearables technology; smaller surviving players who don't get acquired will carve out new and important niches in this space.
• Expansion of the ecosystem and emergence of new business models will allow several categories of players (beyond hardware providers) to create value, drive innovation and make money.
• Improvements in the underlying technology will enable an enhanced user experience.

The free report Inside Wearables (Part 2) is available for download here.

About Endeavour Partners
Based in Cambridge, MA, Endeavour Partners is a strategy consulting firm with deep expertise in mobile technology. The firm helps companies anticipate, navigate, and innovate for a future of mobile connectedness and opportunity.