Wearables To Grow 34 Percent In 2015

The wearable market is just getting started.

Market intelligence firm Tractica recently released a report showing that the global wearable devices market will increase more than 10 times over by 2020, with smartwatches expected to constitute the biggest boost of all the devices’ sales beginning in 2015, according to Drug Store News.

The report, titled “Wearable Device Market Forecasts,” forecasts that the 17 million units sold in 2013 will increase to 187.2 million units by 2020, resulting in a 34 percent growth rate for wearable devices. 2015 will be a strong year for wearables, Tractica’s analysis predicts, and will propel sales in the years following. Smartwatches are also projected to outpace fitness trackers during the same five-year time period studied.

And Apple will be leading the way — at least this year.

“One of the first mass-market consumer wearables, the Apple Watch, will hit the market in 2015,” said Aditya Kaul, Research Director at Tractica. “The wearables industry has lacked a true ‘hero’ device until now, and we believe that Apple will provide the momentum and scale to drive significant awareness and growth in the sector, just as it did previously for smartphones and tablets. However, the wearables market is bigger than just the smartwatch category and Apple, with a long tail of applications and use cases emerging around enterprise, sports, industrial, healthcare and public safety. Other key device categories include fitness trackers, wearable cameras, body sensors, smart glasses and smart clothing.”

In addition to smartwatches, the devices covered by Tractica’s report also include wearables such as location trackers, smart jewelry, and gesture control devices.