Trend:
Nowadays, people are actively taking control over various kinds of technologies and are using these technologies in order to meet their own needs. Such issues as technology and fitness have become a crucial part of the contemporary society and popular culture. The combination of technology and fitness, in particular, created a new market and various opportunities, beneficial for both customers and retailers. The former achieved an ability to raise their shopping experience and to track their health conditions at the same time, and the latest are forced to develop their marketing strategies. There is hardly a chance to ignore the importance of the modern technology trends, as they have become an integral part of everyday life. Moreover, people feel dependent on the power of technology. Wearable technology, including Fitbits, Apple watches, and VR headsets, has become an innovation widely used every day.
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These devices are popular, as they turn an exhausting exercise into an entertaining activity. According to Mintel’s report ‘Healthy Lifestyles ‘ US ‘ October 2015’, around 64% of adults think that getting regular exercise is the key to staying healthy, and 11% of adults monitored their exercise and food intake with a mobile app, meanwhile 7% monitored exercise with a wearable fitness tracker. The Economist experts explain the popularity of Apple’s watches by the fact that they are able to provide ‘haptic feedback’: ‘they vibrate to give alerts to wearers, such as reminding them to stand up if they have been sitting too long’ the watch will also offer new data-gathering capabilities for studying health’ (‘Wearable Technology: The Wear, Why and How’).
Although women appear to be less engaged in the usage of wearable technology (Ornelas, ‘Wearable Technology: Social Media, US, December 2016’), these electronics are still popular among parents. Such devices as smartwatch or wearable camera can be very useful for various family activities: there are games and applications designed for multiple users, which makes personal interaction easier and more entertaining. There are also smartphone and tablet games designed for individual playing. Moreover, the field of fitness’apps designed for children is the one that may be highly beneficial for doing business. Even those products, which are not specifically targeting children, may still involve their parents in purchasing. Today, parents usually do the shopping with their children, which means that an educational approach, exercise reminders, and goal settings are the features that should be placed inside of an attractive container. In addition, the visually attractive products are considered to be a good offer.
The data mentioned above leads to the conclusion of how some strategies of marketing messaging could evolve. An example of how does GoPro’s official YouTube channel promotes athletic and extreme-sport activities through the user-made content is evidential. The family-oriented content, thus, could be successfully featured to promote the usage of wearable technology among parents and their children.
Sub Trend: Digital Experience in Retail Industry
According to Mintel’s report ‘Home Linens ‘ US ‘ July 2015’, technology plays the crucial role in capturing the attention of consumers, which provides the retailers with the bright opportunities for improving their home linens shopping experience. No wonder that technology invades the retailing space, step by step. Nowadays, the representatives of the retail industry embrace technology to enhance their marketing plan.
An implementation of new technologies into the process of selling products may bring essential benefits. By creating a product that provides the users with the ability to meet their needs, as well as the ability to try out a new product itself, a certain company may stand out from its competitors. This, and all the facts and implications mentioned above may lead to an establishment of the mutual benefit between the producer and consumers.
- ‘Healthy Lifestyles ‘ US ‘ October 2015’. Mintel.
http://store.mintel.com/healthy-lifestyles-us-october-2015 Accessed 19 February 2017. - ‘Home Linens ‘ US ‘ July 2015’. Mintel. http://store.mintel.com/home-linens-us-july-2015 Accessed 19 February 2017.
- Ornelas, J. ‘Wearable Technology: Social Media, US, December 2016’. Infegy/Mintel, 2016.
- ‘Wearable Technology: The Wear, Why and How’. The Economist. 12 Mar. 2015,
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21646225-smartwatches-and-other-wearable-devices-become-mainstream-products-will-take-more Accessed 19 February 2017.
