Not too surprisingly, respondents who reported an annual household income of $100K+ before taxes in
2014 were significantly more likely to currently own and use a wearable device, which seems to be a
trend we can expect to see continue for some time (Figure 4).
Which of the following describes you in in regards to wearable
devices ( e. g. , fitbit, jawbone, Misfit, etc. ) that communicate with an app on a
smartphone?
Under $50K
$50 k < $100k
$100k+
I own but don’t currently use a wearable device
7%
9%
9%
I own and use a wearable device
11%
19%
28%
I plan to purchase a wearable device in the next year
17%
24%
27%
66%
48%
35%
None of the above
Perhaps the most interesting data point is the across-the-board willingness to partake in a one-question
survey via a mobile device regardless of gender, age, education or income (Figure 5). Results show
that, regardless of attribute, a very high percentage of the population is willing to take a one-question
survey on a wearable device, and virtually no one indicates that they are “very” or “somewhat unlikely”
to do so. This indicates that there will be a broad opportunity to engage with the wearables consumer.
How likely would you be to answere a one-question survey on a wearable device
app if it was relevant to your current location / situation?
Age
18-34
Very Likely 18-34%
Somewhat Likely
Gender
35+
Male
Education
Income
Bachelor
’s deg
ree/gradu
ate /
Under
Under
$50K
Female Degree Degree
$100K
$100K+
72.73%
82.61% 73.47%
72.97%
80.00% 93.75% 80.00% 66.67%
14.29% 25.00%
13.04% 24.49%
21.62%
20.00%
6.25%
16.67% 33.33%
Neither likely nor unlikely
3.57%
2.27%
4.35%
2.04%
5.41%
0.00%
0.00%
3.33% 0.00%
Somewhat unLikely
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00% 0.00%
Very unlikely
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00% 0.00%
Summary- As wearables continue to gain popularity they offer the potential to engage with consumers
in an unobtrusive way by eliminating the need to reach for their phone.
Since wearables are billed as being unobtrusive and convenient the way market research uses them must
be the same. General demographic information can be collected once or even obtained from data collected
passively through app registration and ongoing usage. Then, when it’s appropriate to obtain feedback a
one-question survey can be quickly presented at the ideal time to engage the respondent. Even sending a
single question from a much longer survey can still provide valuable results as these questions will randomly
be sent to a large pool still returning unbiased and meaningful data. Overall, the results of a survey given
in this manner has the potential to provide data of significant importance about the individual shopping
experience, the products purchased or consumed, and other metrics.
This is an area that warrants further research however, if consumers are ready to take the wearable plunge,
then market research must be prepared to do the same.