Digital trends come and go with some influencing ground-breaking change, such as the iPhone in 2007, and others resigned to the digital scrapheap, including the recent shelving of Google Glass (for now). With industry predictions telling us that six million of the UK population will own some form of wearable tech by autumn this year, it's evident that wearables are bringing another wave of digital change.

However, this new trend also brings with it a problem. The lack of one form factor for wearable technology means that both marketers and consumers are being overloaded with all manner of digital 'wearable stuff'. So how can we separate the 'interesting stuff' from the 'guff'?

For marketers, this latest digital innovation is providing new dimensions of context, location and behaviour coupled with a lack of screen interfaces, new interaction and input methods. It will challenge them to think differently about how they can use this technology to enhance the customer's experience. It's the customer journey that marketers should consider when prioritising the different forms of wearable technology.

Sensors

Activity sensors such as the Jawbone UP, Fitbit and Misfit dominate the wearable technology category, accounting for almost 60 per cent of all wearables sold in the UK during 2014. Unfortunately, up to a third of activity sensors also end up in the bedside drawer after six months. However, there are still consumers who like the data, numbers and motivation that this technology provides with 70 per cent of people who wear activity sensors saying that it has improved their health.

For marketers, this data provides valuable consumer insight which in turn enables them to create a more meaningful experience. Over the coming years marketers need to consider wearable sensors and the data that they provide to fine tune the customer's experience with a better service. This is now the age of the quantified self. We are making our first steps towards us using wearables for health and medical reasons.

Smartwatches

We interact with our smartphones on average 120 times a day and the smartwatch will help to stop the addiction of fumbling around in our bags or pockets by having synced watches on our wrists, reducing smartphone interactions by up to 50 per cent. A lot of interactions on a smartphone are glanceable notifications that don't need immediate action. The smartwatch is ideal for those subtle glances at information and will prove powerful when the information is pertinent to the wearers here and now - such as while travelling and on the move.

Currently UK smartwatch adoption is pretty low and still very much in the innovator stage of the technology adoption curve. However, there is an obvious fit for the technology in industries such as transport and travel - both have a need to bring real time information to their audience in the most convenient way.

Virtual Reality

Headsets that fit over your eyes and ears to give you a multi-sensory experience are not the most discreet of wearables. However, Facebook has bet big money on the technology, spending two billion pounds on acquiring the virtual reality company, Oculus Rift in March 2014. With Sony and Samsung also bringing their own headsets to market, we've seen plenty of examples of the technology being used to enhance the gaming experience. However, we're still a way off everyday consumers owning a piece of kit like this. Aside from gaming, immersive entertainment and Facebook communication, we're yet to see this technology being used to enhance the experience for everyday consumers.

Augmented Reality

When it comes to influencing the customer journey, glasswear and augmented reality are set to overtake virtual reality by using wearable eyewear to bring contextually relevant information and interface over our real world. For now, the focus is on commercial opportunities such as, allowing emergency personnel, industry workers and other field workers go hands-free. We've also seen the technology being used at a customer service level - with some airlines and hotels trailing glasswear in a concierge scenario. While the technology may not have been widely adopted just yet, used in a commercial sense, it can definitely deliver a better experience for customers.

It's important that marketers don't get distracted by the different types of wearable tech available. To select the right types to focus on, marketers need to consider the end-to-end journey across touch-points, not just the digital but for physical and offline such as with feelings and interactions. By doing this, they can determine what has the potential to enhance the overall customer experience and select the right wearable technology for their business.

 

By Peter Gough, co-founder of ORM. 

Do you think wearables are the future of digital marketing or do you remain sceptical? Let us know your thoughts on wearables below! 

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