Over a quarter of smartwatches are abandoned - Gartner

Only 10 per cent of consumers have adopted smartwatches, according to Gartner survey

Gartner is urging smartwatch suppliers to have better value propositions, after its study found that 29 per cent of smartwatches are abandoned because users don't find them useful enough.

The Gartner Personal Technologies study surveyed more than 9,500 consumers from the UK, US and Australia, between June and August 2016.

The survey found that only 10 per cent of consumers have adopted smartwatches, and of those, 29 per cent gave up using them. Fitness trackers have a 19 per cent adoption rate, Gartner said, with 30 per cent of those then being abandoned.

Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner, said: "Dropout from device usage is a serious problem for the industry. The abandonment rate is quite high relative to the usage rate. To offer a compelling enough value proposition, the uses for wearable devices need to be distinct from what smartphones typically provide. Wearables makers need to engage users with incentives and gamification."

The survey showed that consumers found wearables devices are priced too high and the designs of the watches and trackers are not appealing to consumers.

The US had the most smartwatch usage, with 12 per cent of consumers owning one. The UK had nine per cent usage, and in Australia it is seven per cent. For fitness trackers, the US also had the highest usage rate at 23 per cent. Australia followed with 19 per cent and the UK was last with a 15 per cent usage rate.

"The key to creating a value proposition to interest mainstream consumers is lifestyle messages around health tracking and the convenience of receiving alerts on the wrist, instead of via the phone," added McIntyre. "The benefit will increase as these devices gain the capability to function more independently from the phone."