Accenture: get ready for the smart tech revolution

Consumers are gravitating towards wearable devices such as smart watches to complement their digital lifestyle, a new study from Accenture has found.

The Racing towards a digital lifestyle report found that more than 70% of early adopters showed interest in buying functionality for everything from vehicle navigation and home security, to personal safety and health and fitness.

Accenture believes that for these consumers, wearable technology crystallises a complete digital lifestyle.

The survey polled 6,000 consumers around the world about 18 device categories, including wearable technologies, such as fitness monitors, smart watches and Internet-connected glasses, phablets, smartphones, HDTVs and more.

Accenture noted that wearable devices allow consumers to gain access to data quickly. The study found that 52% of respondents said they were interested in buying a fitness monitor device or app for their smartphone.

Beyond wearables, more than half of consumers (52%) who plan to buy a traditional smartphone in the next year said they would prefer a phablet. The survey also revealed that consumers continue to show strong interest in buying traditional smartphones and tablet PCs.

According to Accenture, as consumers create their personal constellations of devices and services personalised to meet their digital lifestyle, there will be opportunities for leading providers to understand how consumers are using each device in the context of others. Accenture expects companies will look to build engaging relationships with customers and develop new products.

It urged consumer technology companies to develop a rich engagement strategy. This engagement strategy will likely be different for each customer segment, Accenture said.