Fitbit Sales Explode, Stocks Surge

One of the most common refrains in retail during the last year has been that fitness wearables are poised for an incredible year of interest and sales come 2016. However, one industry leader is proving that some health-conscious and tech-savvy shoppers aren’t willing to wait for the last page of the 2015 calendar to fall.

In a report to investors, Brad Erickson, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, detailed a report that indicated soaring end-of-year sales for Fitbit’s line of fitness wearable devices, as reported by Investor’s Business Daily. While no specific numbers were shared, Erickson’s analysis cites several promising signs for the brand’s performance, including Fitbit’s relative lack of discounts and promotions compared to other retailers.

“We were fairly well bombarded with emails on Cyber Monday and after from Best Buy and others noting holiday weekend discounts on wearables continuing throughout the week,” Erickson said. “Fitbit, however, was noticeably absent from this group, which we took as a good sign.”

Erinn Murphy, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, also indicated that Fitbit products have been steadily climbing Amazon’s item rankings over the past few weeks. In fact, Murphy explained that within Amazon’s sports and fitness product category, Fitbit products occupy seven of the top 10 bestselling items.

Predictably, good news about Fitbit devices’ popularity with consumers is good news for investors, and the brand’s stock shot up 3 percent as a result of the market’s roundly given praise. To date, Fitbit’s stock sits at 28.50 per share, though both Erickson and Murphy estimated that it would almost certainly continue to climb, with upper estimates in the 50 to 60 range.

With that kind of an ending to 2015, Fitbit seems almost guaranteed to enjoy a similarly strong 2016. The question that remains is whether any other brand will be able to replicate this kind of success before the market fills up.