Meantime, the PwC data did offer some good news. More than half of millennials and early adopters said they were excited about the technology's future, and many cited the following benefits:

Improved safety: 90 percent said wearables could play an important role for parents by helping them track their children;
Healthier living: More than 80 percent of consumers said the technology could support eating healthier and exercising smarter, as well as help them access more convenient medical care;
Simplicity and ease of use: 83 percent of respondents cited simplification and improved ease of technology as a key benefit of wearable technology.

Millennials could well be the key to how fast and far the wearables industry grows. Among the feedback PwC reported:

73 percent of respondents expect wearable technology to make media and entertainment more immersive and fun, and the expectations were even higher among millennials at 79 percent.
64 percent of millennials said they'd be excited to try a wearable technology product introduced by an entertainment or media company, compared to 42 percent of the general population.
Millennials, who were three times as likely as the general population to list real-time social media updates as an important benefit of wearables.
After dietary, exercise and medical information, an enhanced retail experience was at the top of the list of information millennials would like wearable tech to provide them. Fifty-one percent of millennials said this would be information they'd like to know, compared to 45 percent of the general population.
Millennials say wearable technology in the retail space should reward them for being faithful customers: 50 percent said they would be "strongly motivated" to use wearables if it 'has apps/features that reward those who frequently use it.'
64 percent of consumers ages 18 to 24 say they would be motivated if wearable technology created new platforms and devices to make gaming more visually and physically engaging.

Health care and health insurance continue to represent large potential markets for wearables, and the PwC survey underscored this, but resistance remains, largely around the issues of cost and privacy. Among the findings:

More than 80 percent of consumers said an important benefit of wearable technology is its potential to make health care more convenient.
68 percent of consumers would wear employer-provided wearables streaming anonymous data to an information pool in exchange for break on their insurance premiums. Moreover, consumers are more willing to try wearable technology provided by their primary care doctor's office than they are from any other brand or category.
Few consumers are interested in using wearables to share health data with friends and family, and, citing concerns about privacy, consumers trust their personal physicians most with their health data.
Consumers might need a human touch to help them choose a device and its associated apps. An "apps formulary" of apps vetted by medical teams (and available in a virtual apps pharmacy) could help consumers wade through the thousands of health apps and devices.
Employees are generally okay with the inclusion of wearables in benefits packages – 70 percent of respondents say they expect their workplace to permit the use of wearable technology. But many don't want to pay for them – 46 percent say they think their company should fund the wearable technology.

Instant Insights /

Millennials key to wearable future

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