Report: Apple Watch Drives the Average Smartwatch Price Up

The average amount spend on a smart wearable has grown significantly, according to Futuresource Consulting, and the main reason is because of the Apple Watch.

Though prices on activity trackers continue to drop, the ASP (average selling price) on wearable devices saw a major increase in the Q1 of 2016, boosted mostly by the availability of the Apple Watch.

The average price paid for a wearable increased about 50% to $218 per unit. Volume of activity trackers grew by 18%, while sports watches with heart-rate monitoring an GPS increase by 11%.

Prices of activity trackers dropped 40% in 2014 compared to 2014, and as consumers started buying smartwatches, that drop didn’t help much with sales volume. The amount spend on fitness wearables only grew 2% in 2015 and is expected not to be so great this year. Ouch.

Both Fitbit and Xiaomi accounted for more than 70% of activity trackers sold, while sport watches from Garmin and Polar remained the most popular.

The Apple Watch seems to be gaining popularity as retailers such as Best Buy continue to push new incentivizing deals to get people to consider buying them.

We’re likely just a few months away from seeing the second-generation Apple Watch which we believe will be a substantial upgrade over the first-generation Watch given it’s 2 year cycle. Rumors suggest it will include a FaceTime camera as well as the possibility of smart bands.