8 Wearable Tech Stats To Get You Pumped For SXSW

SXSW Interactive kicks off TODAY, which means T-2 days until our SXSWearables Sunday Brunch! The geekiest arm of the festival has paved the way for some crazy product launches (Twitter, Foursquare, Storify) and is now the place to get your hands on this year’s hottest gadgets. After CES 2014 unleashed a mainstream frenzy over wearable tech, people are expecting the strap on showcase at SXSW to be bigger and better than ever before. And we’re pretty confident it won’t disappoint.

Here are eight stats on health and fitness wearables we think you should know:

1. Investors have spent over half a billion dollars in equity and debt on wearable tech startups since 2009

2. The global wearables market was worth more than $2.5B in revenue in 2012 and is expected to cross $8B in 2018

3. A $330M industry worldwide, digital fitness trackers are currently the most popular type of wearable device

4. Smart glasses, fitness bands, and watches are predicted to sell about 10 million units in 2014, generating $3B. By 2020, sales are predicted to surpass 100 million units

5. 61% of all wearable devices are fitness or activity trackers

6. 60% of Americans who use wearable tech say it helps them feel more in control of their lives

7. 46% of people who track their health say it has changed their overall approach to maintaining wellness

8. The total number of tweets mentioning “wearable tech” grew from 4,103 in January 2013 to 64,989 in September 2013 (That’s 16X for you non-math wizzes)
 
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