Apple may be synonymous with brand value for loyalists, but it seems that the Cupertino-based company's Apple Watch is facing stiff competition from another wearable - Fitbit.
Fitbit, the popular fitness band, is currently ruling the roost according to a new survey conducted by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, which was released on May 4. The wearable is reportedly outselling the Apple smartwatch with ease.
"Fitbit established itself as an early market leader, capturing 61.7 percent of the US installed base by communicating a clear and simple value proposition to consumers. Apple accounts for 6.8 percent of the total number of fitness band and smartwatch owners in the US," noted Shannon Conway, a wearable tech analyst at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.
Fitness trackers from Fitbit such as the Charge HR and the Blaze contributed to the 61.7 percent.
The survey also reveals that despite smartwatches such as the Apple Watch being packing in more functionalities and capable of offering more, consumers are gravitating more toward fitness bands - leading to higher sales for the latter. According to the survey, three in four wearables that Americans own are fitness trackers.
What is the reason for this shift in preference? Apparently, buyers look for ease of use and practicality when selecting a wearable. Fitness band offerings from the likes of Garmin and Fitbit may lack versatile features housed in smartwatches, but they make up in simplicity.
However, it is important to note that the wearable space is still evolving and reasonably small, as just 12.2 percent of the group surveyed by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech owned a wearable.
In Europe, there is a different trend for wearables vis-à-vis the U.S. The survey discovered that collectively only 6.6 percent of those gauged in Germany, the UK, Italy and France owned the same. Of those surveyed, only 55 percent had a smartwatch and 44 percent had a fitness band.
Despite this statistic, Fitbit is the numero uno player in the smartwatch and fitness band space in Europe, accounting for an 18.5 percent share. Close on its heels are Apple (14 percent) and Samsung (11.6 percent).
A common factor between smartwatch and fitness band consumers is that both consider brand, usability, ease and functionality when buying the device. These factors supersede cost and design of the product.
