Getting to know your wearable
The wearables market is constantly evolving. From watches to fitness trackers, it seems like everyone is sporting the newest technology on their wrists. However, as the Washington Post notes, fitness tracking devices and apps aren’t just a new category of products for brands like Nike and Under Armour; they are the real-world equivalent of web beacons.
As Drew Harwell explained, “the easier [fitness brands] make it for sweaty shoppers to start tracking all their workouts, the more linked those brands will be in shoppers’ heads when they go to buy new gear.”
Take for example the Under Armour community: collectively they have logged more than 100 million workouts. That is a huge opportunity to push your latest sweat-wicking gear and shoe insoles. Rather than simply displaying a sale, or advertisement, for their respective companies, however, Harwell says these fitness brands are planning to take their collective workout customer base a step further: through a deal with online shoe store, Zappos, Under Armour’s MapMyFitness app, will use an exerciser’s workout history to send alerts that their athletic shoes should be replaces soon, and add a link from Zappos on where to buy them.
Wearables could generate more sales than famous athletes’ endorsement deals
Harwell states that some executives in the sportswear market believe the ability to track consumers through their bands could do more for sales than pro athlete endorsement deals. That’s a pretty hefty statement considered what Nike has laid out in the past for these deals. By tailoring the ads and links to the exerciser, the company has zero risk of having their image effected by an athlete’s poor performance, or injuries.
When you consider how many people wear smartwatches or activity tracking devices, the potential to use these devices to not only sell fitness items, but items we regularly buy or enjoy becomes almost too easy. Think about the places you frequent: the gym, movie theater, park, community centers, restaurants, and more.
Wouldn’t it be all too easy for retailers to begin to target their advertisement to what you use most? Sending out a coupon for 10% off a movie on Friday is likely to increase business. Free “bring a friend to the gym” day when you haven’t been in for a week? That’s likely to make you reconsider.
As marketing based on our activities begins to rise, so should our concern for security
Perhaps we need to turn those devices off every now and again and double check security settings; while it’s nice to receive reminders and coupons, it comes at a price: Your every move being monitored and recorded.
#Wearables
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