Forrester: Apple Watch to Lead Wearables Boom

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Forrester Research reports wearable device numbers are to triple in 2015, with the Apple Watch alone attracting around 10 million customers as interest in the device category grows within both consumer and business segments.

Apple Watch launch"The wearable market will take off as brands, retailers, sports stadiums, healthcare companies, and others develop new business models to take advantage of wearables," the analyst says.

Interestingly the Forrester report also suggests European customers are cooler towards wearables than Americans-- in a poll of 13003 European and 4500 American consumers, just 32% of Europeans see themselves buying a wearable while Americans clock at 45%. As for the devices in question, potential customers are mainly interested in smartwatches and wrist-worn fitness trackers.

Businesses are even more interested in wearables, as 68% of 3104 business decision makers polled by Forrester describe a wearables strategy (covering wearable field worker monitors, location-aware smartwatches and video/photo devices) as a priority.

“In the future, wearables will offer marketers a wide array of tools for creating deeper engagement with customers," the analyst adds. "Through employee-worn wearables in customer service, wearables that customers buy for themselves, or even wearables that you give to your customers to interact with you.”

Go Forrester: Five Urgent Truths About the Future of Wearables Every Leader Should Know