The market penetration of wearable devices in the US (12.2 percent) is almost double that of Europe (6.6 percent), according to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech's first quarterly report into the wearable technology sector. The difference is above all due to the popularity of fitness bands in the US market, with three out of four "wrist wearable" devices owned falling into this category, said Kantar. Fitbit has captured 61.7 percent of the US installed base, with Apple accounting for 6.8 percent of the total number of fitness bands and smartwatches.
In Europe's big four markets of the UK, Germany, France and Italy, wearables haven’t been as popular as in the US, with Fitbit failing to achieve its US dominance but still remaining the most owned brand at 18.5 percent of the combined fitness band and smartwatch base, followed closely by Apple and Samsung with 14 percent and 11.6 percent respectively. Italy leads the EU4 wearables penetration rate with over one in ten consumers (10.3 percent) owning either a fitness band or smartwatch, followed by the UK (7.9 percent), Germany (5.4 percent) and France (4.6 percent).
