Hands-Free Access Drives Enterprise Wearable Adoption

In ABI Research’s latest edition of the Wearable Device Market Share and Forecasts market data, a quarterly updated research, ABI Research forecasts global enterprise wearable device shipments to reach 185 million in 2022, increasing from approximately 44 million in 2017. 

By Vertical: Healthcare leads the verticals for enterprise wearable shipments; this is partly due to the relatively larger adoption of medical devices, such as blood pressure monitors and glucose monitors.

Other verticals including warehouse and manufacturing, as well as field services represent increased opportunities, as hands-free access to information brings efficiency and productivity.

Education is a fast-growing vertical for enterprise wearable device shipments because the higher level of the immersive experience is not only applied to school and education institutes, but also to on-the-job training.

By Device Types: Smart glasses, mainly adopted for warehouse and manufacturing, as well as field services, will see rapid growth beginning in 2017 thanks to its comprehensive usage. Additionally, it is due to more platform, software, and content being brought in.

Wearable cameras are on track for growth thanks to the increasing adoption of body-worn cameras by police officers, in addition to application in retail and hospitality for user experience analysis.

The wearable scanner market is also experiencing rapid expansion, as it provides hands-free mobility and brings increased productivity to warehouse, transportation, and logistics. 

Most enterprises have some knowledge of wearables, though the adoption rate is low at this stage. However, a large number of enterprises are trialing and looking to implement the wearable technology in the future, so that enterprise wearables will really make their mark in industries over the next few years. 

Currently, the most popular use case is healthcare. Apart from healthcare-related devices (blood pressure monitors, continuous glucose monitors, pulse oximeters, ECG monitors, and respiratory monitors), smartwatches will be adopted in the healthcare industry, as it provides medical professionals with patient information directly to their wrist for surgery, diagnosis, and peer work. In 2017, healthcare occupied 2% of smart glasses shipments for the enterprise market, and will grow to 8% of the total shipments in five years.

Not considering healthcare-related devices, manufacturing and warehouse is currently using the most wearable technology, as wearable devices provide workers with hands-free access to information. Wearable scanners and readers help to scan items at various intervals in the warehouse and it allows communication between wearers and processes. Smart glasses provide an option for fast scanning at a far distance, access to data, and it improves productivity. These wearable devices can work in tandem to cover numerous use cases.

The government sector has large shipment numbers, with 5 million units in 2017, which is expected to reach 20 million units by 2022. Wearable technologies increase government and military efficiency. They track and trace a worker’s activities, improves security, and provides more tools like wearable cameras and hearables for law enforcement. Specifically, wearable cameras are already gaining traction for public safety.

Within the retail industry, wearables provide hands-free communication, data visualization, and access to interactive instructions for task completion and connectivity with remote team members for support. Wearables allow companies to monitor stock and provide enhanced in-store shopping experiences to customers via simplifying payment process, improving the visual in-store experience.