One in five use wearable technology to measure their activity levels

One in five people report using wearable technology to measure their steps as the number of smartwatches and fitness bands rose to an estimated four million devices last year,.

The study found that ownership of smartphones and tablets at 82 per cent and (58 per cent of the population resepctively has remained largely stable throughout 2016 to 2017, that of smartwatches has steadily risen to its current nine per cent level, up from just two per cent in 2014.

Meanwhile, ownership of fitness bands stands at 16 per cent, up from seven per cent in 2015, according to a report from Mintel.

Andrew Moss, Technology Analyst at Mintel said: “The rapid improvements in the functionality of wearable technology have increased the appeal of these devices to a much broader market. Increasingly presenting these devices as fashion pieces should also help to boost their popularity with less technology-savvy consumers. S

“ome manufacturers are even willing to concede some functionality to produce devices that follow the traditional circular design of wristwatches.”

Just under two in five consumers say they are interested in using wearable technology for health and wellness monitoring, followed by 27 per cent for sports and training monitoring and 21 per cent for security and access control. Meanwhile, one in five said they would be interested in using technology to control smart home devices and 19 per cent for mobile payments.

Two-thirds of parents of under-16s are interested in devices which monitor and track kids, including location and sleep monitoring.