What Black Friday Taught Me About Wearable Health
Grey Thursday, Black Friday, Cyber Monday = Great Wearable Deals
Did you go out this past weekend for shopping galore? Did you bring your Fitbit/Misfit/Calorie counting number crunching wearable to see how much turkey you burned off? No? Well, maybe someone bought one for you.
You seek, my mother works on Thanksgiving, one of the many retail workers who flee Thanksgiving lunch early to get ready to pull a late shift on a national holiday. I used to visit her as a kid in the stores, until we couldn't even see her. Nowadays, I stay at home and shop on the computer for deals.
One thing that struck me this year was the number of discounts being offered on wearables. If you followed CNET, Gizmodo, or whatever other shopping informing websites, you probably noticed many vendors running significant discounts on their wearables (e.g. Misfit). Amazon I believe was running some of the largest deals and may still have some going on.
Is This the Year Where Wearables are Under the Tree?
This made me wonder, is this the year of wearables? I ask this for several reasons:
- There are a TON of wearables out there. For that reason, odds are some people will find them an attractive stocking stuffer or present for those that are active users of mobile items.
- Smartwatches have not taken off...Yet. And that may be the key factor, when the Apple Watch comes out next year, and along with whatever other competitors or new versions, I feel that may be the hot product for 2016. And odds are, that they will replace alot of the wearables bought this year.
- Health is a Big Deal. There has been alot of media about mobile health and using devices to keep active. Look at Apple's commercial on tracking health. Integrating these wearables just makes sense and will have people intrigued to try them out.
I won't be suprised if after christmas I see alot of new people sporting wearable devices. I think it will get new users into the mHealth and Quantified Health movement.
But, I didn't but one this year.
I am going to wait for next year...
And that comes down to reason #2 and my past article about how I lost my Misfit Shine and won't buy another wearable (Unless it don't have to charge it regularly or it practically wont fall apart). In light of that, I want a smartwatch. They are to pricey, but I want something functional and with a good battery life. Maybe something good will come next year.