Almost half a million smartwatches have been sold in the US since October 2013 and category incumbents, Samsung and Pebble, dominate the market. According to a new report from NPD, revenues from the smartwatch market totalled USD 96 million since October. Sales of the Samsung Gear account for 78 percent of total revenue in the market while Pebble holds an 18 percent revenue share. A third of all smartwatch units to date were sold during the 2013 holiday season.
According to NPD's study, 20 percent of consumers say they are interested in purchasing a smartwatch, with younger consumers expressing the most interest. Among 16-24 year olds, 30 percent said they were interested in buying a smartwatch, while a quarter of 25-34 year olds reported interest. One thing that resonates among all age groups is price. Among those likely to buy a smartwatch, cost was cited as the number on barrier to adoption.
Since October, promotions and the introduction of new smartwatches have caused average prices to fluctuate, reaching as high as USD 257 and dropping to a low of USD 160. Primarily driven by Samsung's bundling the Gear with purchases of its Note and Galaxy smartphones, the average price of a smartwatch is now USD 189. The data includes sales from 6 October 2013 through 25 May 2014.
