I find this a little hard to believe, but a new report says that more folks are familiar with the Fitbit brand despite the Apple Watch’s dominance in revenue.
Fitbit and Apple Watch both excel in brand recognition in the wearable market, according to a new survey by The Manifest, a business news and how-to site. Fitbit maintains greater familiarity among consumers, though, despite Apple Watch generating far more revenue.
More than three-quarters of people (77%) are familiar with the Fitbit brand and 73% of people are familiar with the Apple Watch, according to the survey. Less than half (48%) of people know of Samsung’s Galaxy Gear. A little more than one-quarter of people (27%) are familiar with Google Glass, and less than 1 in 5 recognize the Amazfit Bip (16%), Snapchat Spectacles (12%), or the Garmin Forerunner (12%).
The Manifest says that Fitbit succeeds in brand recognition by staying simple and affordable, while the Apple Watch dominates in revenue through its narrative-driven marketing and variety of features. Apple’s wearables 2019 first quarter revenue was $5.1 billion, which was 19 times more than Fitbit’s overall sales of $272 million. The Manifest says that Apple succeeds in revenue by inspiring consumers with narrative-driven marketing and offering powerful features.
Fitbit dominated the wearable industry between 2013 to 2015 as one of the first wearables accessible to consumers before Apple released the first Apple Watch. By 2017, however, Apple owned 60.4% of the market. Fitbit continues to stay in the game, though. In 2018, The Manifest says that Apple saw a significant decrease in its market share, which fell to 50% as both Fitbit and Samsung released new products.
