Smart-wear is undoubtedly the buzz word of 2014 in the world of technological innovation. In an increasingly trendy world, fashion and technology have seamlessly fused into a winning combination producing wearable devices that are ‘smart’, which compute and add immense aesthetical value. Welcome to the world of Wearable Technology!
Gone are the ages when computable technology was restricted to desktops and remained ensconced in the realm of Science Fiction. Indeed technology has reached within an arm’s reach both in the literal and figurative sense! Watches that indicate temperatures, T-shirts that light up with LED’s, Athletic gear that changes colour to show the intensity of workout etc were perhaps unimaginable even a couple of decades back. Today Google Glass, Apple’s iWatch, Nike Fuelband, Jawbone are just a few of the scores of products that have come up in the last few years that constitute Wearable Technology. The wide range of capabilities these devices can perform is quite staggering. For example Nissan is developing technology to provide a driver’s car data directly to the driver’s smartwatch. Wallaby which is a mobile and online credit card optimization solution for the Samsung smartwatch provides users with the ability to make financial decisions. The current global Wear-Tech industry is estimated to be worth around $4.5 Billion with a phenomenal expected growth rate. More than 100 million shipments of wear tech products are expected to be made by 2016. The technological advancements made in this regard are incredibly diverse and cut across several fields such as electronics, sports, medical devices, fitness and lifestyle etc.
This unprecedented growth brings with it rich opportunities for marketers. Marketers realize the immense potential of data that can be gleaned from wearables that can receive text messaging, GPS directions, shooting photos/videos, mobile coupons, etc. These wearables are worn like