"Nearly one-fourth of the wearable cameras and camcorders bought in the last year were given as gifts," said Barbara Kraus, Director of Research, Parks Associates. "This product will continue to be a hot high-tech gift through the holidays and into 2016. Consumers are using wearable cameras to record daily life (36% of owners) just as much as they use them during notable events like vacations, holidays, and birthday parties (36% of owners), so as adoption increases, privacy concerns will arise, as anyone in the camera's line of sight might assume they are being recorded. Google Glass created similar concerns."
360 View Update: Connected Wearables shows that roughly 25% of all current owners of wearable cameras (2% of U.S. broadband households) bought the device over the past 12 months, and nearly three-fourths did not consider multiple brands when making a purchase. Among U.S. broadband households, 16% with a head of household ages 25-34 and 14% with an annual household income of $75,000-$99,999 plan to buy a wearable camera in the next 12 months.
GoPro is the clear leader of the wearable camera category, with 62% of consumers who purchased a wearable camera in the past 12 months purchasing a GoPro model. Panasonic had the second-highest percentage of purchases at 10%.
"GoPro's stock has declined recently, in part, because of price reductions amid a strategy to broaden the market," Kraus said. "Because of the increasing quality of cameras and video functionality on smartphones, GoPro may find that it best serves the market by focusing on hobbyists and those who want the higher quality and are willing to pay for it. Price reductions run counter to that."
For more information on 360 View Update: Connected Wearables, visit www.parksassociates.com. Barbara Kraus is available to comment on consumer attitudes and trends for wearable cameras this holiday season and at CES 2016. To schedule an interview with her or to request specific data, contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com, 720.987.6614.
About Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.
The company's expertise includes digital media and platforms, entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, support services, consumer apps, advanced advertising, consumer electronics, energy management, and home control systems and security.
Each year, Parks Associates hosts industry webcasts, the CONNECTIONS™ Conference Series, Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers, and Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer. http://www.parksassociates.com
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Holly Sprague Parks Associates 720.987.6614 hsprague@gmail.com