Apple has fostered a reputation for keeping sales figures notoriously close to its corporate chest, which leads firms toward other creative ways of finding out whether its products are selling. For the Apple Watch, the answer from marketing firm Fluent is: maybe.
In a blog post, Fluent CMO Jordan Cohen released the results of its second annual Apple Watch survey, which collected impressions from more than 2,500 shoppers. And while 8 percent of those surveyed said they actually bought an Apple Watch, the more promising findings require digging into what opinions consumers have formed over the first year of its availability.
As expected, Apple Watch owners are treating their wearables as much more than time-telling devices. Eighty percent indicated that their Apple Watch has become their primary fitness tracking device, and 75 percent use it as a wrist-based music player. This plays into the 46 percent of respondents who said they wanted an Apple Watch as a matter of "convenience." A total of 61 percent of survey participants reported using Apple Pay on their devices to settle a purchase, which is both an encouraging majority number, as well as one that leaves significant room for improvement.
And, for comparison's sake, just 11 percent said they bought an Apple Watch for the tech-centric fashion statement it may or may not convey.
Fluent's survey also touched on general impressions consumers have formed on the Apple Watch, with 47 percent concurring that "the Apple Watch is a successful product." While that won't send high-fives through the hallways of Cupertino, the numbers appear much more positive among those who actually own an Apple Watch (77 percent) and Apple product users in general (62 percent). Tellingly, 75 percent of current owners believe that, a decade from now, most of their fellow consumers will own, if not an Apple Watch specifically, then at least some kind of wearable device.
And whether they like Apple or not, it'll be their device that started this potential trend.
