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IDC Forecasts Wearable Shipments to Grow from 113m in 2017 to 224m by 2021
January 08, 2018

IDC expects wearables will be driven by the move from wristbands to watches, which should help revenue as ASPs for watches are 2 to 3x wristband prices.  But the struggle to move beyond health and fitness persists and convincing consumers to spend more for utility that may not be immediately obvious will be a challenge. This is where fashion-forward brands have a chance to shine as their customer base doesn't tend to prioritize features. Tomorrow's wearables are expected to become more fully featured and multi-functional, spanning health and fitness to communication and productivity. Effectively, that will make today's wearables seem quaint, and spur upgrades and replacements. They expect traditional earphones will give way to smart earwear that feature fitness tracking, audio augmentation, or personal assistants. Clothing – the original wearable – will become smarter with health and fitness tracking, particularly for professional athletes. The forecast is shown in the next table.
 
Table 1: 2017/2012 Wearable Shipments

Source: IDC