Wearable User Penetration By Age, 2014-2019 [TABLE]

Wearables are currently most popular among US adults between 25 and 44, who are the most involved in the movement toward data and fitness tracking. In 2015, 25.1% of internet users between 25 and 34 and 23.1% of those between 35 and 44 will use one. By 2018, 49.9% of 25- to 34-year-old internet users and 47.0% of 35- to 44-year-old internet users will use a wearable device. Long-term, older Americans are expected to be a bigger growth driver, as more wearable health monitoring devices hit the market. Throughout the forecast period, US adults 65 and older will see the biggest growth rates every year for wearable adoption.

With the growth in Fitbit in 2014, the market was primarily dominated by females. But as smartwatches take off in 2015 and 2016, we expect these devices to skew male. In 2015, 19.3% of male internet users will use a wearable device, compared with 18.2% of female internet users. In 2017, eMarketer expects females to once again overtake men in terms of number of users—34.1% of female internet users compared with 33.9% of males. The decreasing price of wearables will play a key role in driving more women to buy them. Read the rest at eMarketer.