ABI Research has looked at enterprise use of wearable devices such as smartwatches, smart glasses, and wearable scanners by surveying 455 US-based company in nine vertical markets. The company forecasts market growth of 39% CAGR, taking the market from $10.5 billion to $55 billion in 2022. Smart glasses are the most popular wearable device among respondents from the manufacturing industry vertical, with 42% stating that the devices are currently in use and a further 54% planning, assessing, or in early investigation.
“Wearable devices are clearly becoming more popular in many organizations, with the manufacturing industry being one of the more aggressive verticals,” says Stephanie Lawrence, Research Analyst at ABI Research. “We expect the manufacturing industry to see high wearable device shipment numbers over the next five years, reaching 32 million shipments in 2022.”
“ABI Research’s recent forecasts reflect our survey results, with manufacturing accounting for the second highest shipment numbers of wearable devices in 2022, and the highest number of smart glass shipments,” concludes Lawrence. “The healthcare industry will see the most wearable shipments within the forecast period, reaching 48 million shipments in 2022; however, it will occupy a much smaller portion of the smart glass market, nearing only three million total in 2022.”
