Are Wearables The Future Of Digital Marketing?.

Dealing with trend changes and new software is nothing new to the world of digital marketing, however wearables are presenting a sizable challenge. The tech savvy of us are guaranteed to be sporting the latest in wearable technological devices and have seamlessly converted without difficultly, but others are questioning the necessity of these devices and whether they are beneficial enough in their uses to justify their creation/investment.

There is no way to be prepared for all the changes that take place in the marketing world, and while one can predict trends, it is impossible to be certain due to the sporadic nature in which we humans chose what to adopt and what not to. Take the QR code as a prime example of an ingenious idea, that came, was adopted on a minimal scale and then quickly filtered out again before those adoptees could be judged as uncool for utilising them. However, the Fitbit rises through the ranks and becomes cult, yet the likelihood of it being viewed as more than a fancy pedometer is limited. Instead it is more likely to be a gadget people use for a few months until one day they remove it and move on to the next fad.
However it is important to note that the most growth in wearable technology has been seen in the health and fitness industry. Leading sales in this area, as with many technology advances, is Apple with their Apple Watch.

Wearables aren’t all wrist based, 2017 has seen wearable tech go bigger than ever. Under Armour released smart sport shoes –  sensor-enabled shoes to help runners track their workouts without needing a mobile device or wearable activity tracker. Ringly began making jewellery that doubles up as a contactless payment device and Topshop have paired with a smart fabrics studio to make smart fashion including heated garments using flexible, conductive ink wires. We are even seeing a rise in fashion brands dedicated to wearable technology, Machina is a great example of this, stating that they endeavour to “make wearable technology ubiquitous by merging fashion and technology in a functional and visually appealing way”. This approach is forecast to increase further with the recent developments of flexible batteries, using graphene that can be printed directly on to textiles. There is an argument that in years to come our activity will be monitored by the buttons on our shirts, instead of heavy wearables in the form of smart phones and watches.

In years gone by predictions were made to say that eyewear was the future of wearable tech, however this claim never came to fruition. The future for smart eyewear is one of uncertainty – the fear of what this could lead to has many petitioning for the ban of its use before it has even posed any issue. It is also a piece of technology that will require a great deal of time and effort to get right.

As technology transitions into the world of wearables, there will be challenges. The nature of wearables often means dealing with much smaller interfaces, resulting in a need for content on a micro scale. The challenge comes in creating content that operates across all possible platforms.

Despite the challenges, consumers are ready to embrace wearable tech and as technological advances further enable wearable tech we are particularly keen to see what creations begin appearing on the market and making their way in to our wardrobes to become part of our styling.