Interest in smartwatches | Are people considering smartwatches for health management purposes?

Smartwatches are wristwatch-type wearable devices, and in addition to providing healthcare functions such as measuring heart rate and tracking sleep, it can also be used to check messages, make phone calls, and run apps, and are generally touchscreen.

They usually come with health management and fitness tracking features, such as heart rate monitoring and exercise tracking, and may also have GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities to provide location information and internet connectivity.

Now, let's analyze the characteristics of people considering buying a smartwatch. For this analysis, we will use VALUES' online behavioral log analytics tools “Dockpit” and “story bank” (only available in Japanese).

First, let's use Dockpit's “Word Network” feature to get a rough idea of the patterns among “Keyword Combinations,” or words that are searched together with the word “smartwatch.”

In this diagram, the five circles (words) connected by nodes from the word “smartwatch” at the center are strongly related to “smartwatch.” In terms of direction, we can see two types of search words: words related to the models and manufacturers such as “recommended,” “Garmin,” and “Omron,” and search terms that reflect consumer needs such as “blood sugar level” and “blood pressure.”

Next, let's look at the rankings of websites viewed by people searching for “smartwatch.” The table below shows the top 20 landing pages that people visited after searching “smartwatch.”

The page that had the most traffic was an article titled “21 recommended smartwatches.” The second place was also a similar article about a ranking of smartwatches written by a third party. It is believed that people searching for smartwatches first collect review-related information on such ranking websites, and then narrow down the smartwatches they want to purchase.

In addition, pages that introduced product information compiled from the perspective of smartwatch and smartphone compatibility also ranked, such as the 13th-place article “3 recommended Android-compatible smartwatches” and the 16th-place article “Ranking of 15 recommended iPhone-compatible smartwatches.” This shows that some people who search for smartwatches are interested in whether the smartwatches are compatibility with certain smartphones.

In the smartwatch market, the Apple Watch is especially popular. In addition to the basic functions used by many users, the Apple Watch also offers a wide range of apps that are integrated with the Apple Store.

If a person considers smartphone integration an important feature, then it is likely that they are interested in the Apple Watch as well as the iPhone. Let's look at the data for people who search for both “Apple Watch” and “iPhone.

The above graph shows the people searching for “iPhone” from those searching “Apple Watch.” We can see that over 70% of people searching “Apple Watch” also searched for the word “iPhone” during the data collection period. The Apple Watch was originally designed to be paired with an iPhone and is characterized by its compatibility with Apple products. It appears that those searching “Apple Watch” were also interested in the iPhone and conducted searches for it.

Next, let's look at the characteristics of those searching for Apple Watch and iPhone, such as their age and annual household income. The graph below shows the people searching “Apple Watch” or “iPhone,” displayed by age group.

When compared with Internet users overall, people searching for "iPhone," especially younger people in their 20s and 30s, were more likely to have searched for “Apple Watch.”

Next, let's look at user attributes by annual household income.

When looking at the results by annual household income, the percentage of people searching for “iPhone” and “Apple Watch” is about 10% lower among those earning less than 4 million yen compared to all Internet users, while the percentage is highest among households earning 6-8 million yen.

Now let’s look at the Word Network again, this time focusing on “Apple Watch” searches.

Judging from the second-level search words such as “SERIES,” “9,” and “8,” it appears that the objective of many people searching for Apple Watch is comparing the different series. Although each series is being considered, many seem to be examining the latest series such as the Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch 8. In addition, the search word “band” suggests that people are also considering smart bands.

Furthermore, under “9,” it shows that “Should I buy it?” was also searched. It seems that some people are searching for the latest Apple Watch to see whether it is worth the “buy” or not. Perhaps they don't want to regret their purchase afterwards.

Next, let's look at the websites visited by people searching for Apple Watch. The table below shows the top 20 inflow pages for “Apple Watch.”

Looking at the 8th-placed landing page with an article titled “25 things you can do with your Apple Watch,” it appears that people are primarily interested in the Apple Watch’s variety of functions and what it can do in conjunction with an iPhone.

It is also interesting that a page about payment by installments ranked 14th. There seems to be a certain demographic of people who are considering purchasing and paying in installments. In addition, a portion of people were interested in support-related services such as repairs and charging, and after-sales service.

We investigated the user persona and interests among people searching for smartwatches and took an in-depth look at the particularly popular Apple Watch.

The Word Network for “smartwatch” searches shows that many users are searching for information related to health care and tracking their physical condition during exercise, suggesting that many users are considering purchasing a smartwatch for health care purposes.

People searching for “smartwatch” first look for smartwatches on ranking websites such as “21 recommended smartwatches.” In that sense, it can be said that being listed on such ranking websites is an important way for companies to reach potential customers and sell their smartwatches.

Additionally, in the Word Network for the latest “Apple Watch” searches, it appears that searching for the different Apple Watch series is a major pattern. Over 70% of people searching “Apple Watch” also search for “iPhone,” suggesting that they are interested in and searching for both. In terms of annual household income, while the proportion of people with an annual income of 6 million yen or more is high, the inflow page data also showed that people are interested in paying in installments. It seems fair to say that a wide range of people are considering purchasing an Apple Watch.

▼Data from Dockpit was used in this case study. Dockpit is an online behavior analytics tool provided by VALUES, Inc., and it allows you to access online behavioral data (updated monthly) via your browser so you can research competitor websites and investigate trends. There is a FREE version of Dockpit, so if you are interested in using it, please register below.