You thought it was a fad a few years back. You were wrong. It’s okay to admit it. Despite all the cynicism and doubt, wearable technology has officially arrived as the next BIG thing. Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone in this space is going to be a winner. Rest assured, there will be plenty of losers.
So what will be the difference between success and failure in the wearable realm? It won’t be fashion sense or style, and it certainly won’t be celebrity endorsements. Instead, the real differentiator is going to be – wait for it – software quality! Bet you didn’t see that one coming.
We did, and so too did analyst firm Forrester. In one of their many upcoming books – The Mobile Mind Shift – they argue that the success of wearable technology will ultimately come down to software. In arecent interview on The New York Times, Forrester analyst (and author) Julia A. Ask had this to say:
“Success of wearables will not hinge on the hardware alone. In fact, some of the data — such as steps — has become commoditized given the number of sources and ease of access. Success will hinge on the associated mobile apps and how effective they are in changing behavior through the right data, insights and recommended actions in consumers’ mobile moments.”
Ask goes on to cite a number of other interesting items that are worth paraphrasing and inferring here for the wearable enthusiasts among us. Let’s take a closer look.
Wearable is Not the Appeal
While it’s true that a subset of consumers will always purchase any technology for the novelty (Sharper Image, you have nothing to worry about), the masses certainly will not buy-in to wearables over the long term if the apps fail to provide the expected user experience. In other words, what good is a smartwatch if it only tells time? As Julia puts it, “The devices have to be able to walk a fine line between being invisible enough that you want to wear them all the time, but also being effective enough that you engage with them.” This leads us nicely into our next point…
Context is King
Users expect a wearable app experience that is custom tailored to their lifestyle (pardon the pun). This is true for all apps, but it’s especially true for wearable apps that are consumed entirely on-the-go. For example, if it’s a sporting app, then the app will need to possess a personality that drives the consumer to push themselves to achieve their best personal record. If it’s a shopping app, it will need to provide real-time data on nearby stores, products, etc. that the user has displayed a preference for in the past.
Wearable apps must therefore fit a “persona” in order to be accepted by their target audience. “Software is the key to helping companies create a connection with their customers, offering the ability to analyze the masses of data that come from wearables,” said Ask. We couldn’t agree more.
The (New) Age of Analytics
Speaking of data, since wearable technology is still in its infancy, there’s a lot the big brands (and their development teams) still don’t know about the space. This includes everything from development and testing challenges and best practices, to user behavior and adoption rates. Suffice to say, those who start leveraging wearable app analytics from the get-go will have a significant advantage over those who don’t. The data is there, but without a willingness to collect, analyze and act on it, many wearables will go the way of cargo pants and visors.
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