BRotD - Entry 0257 What Happened to the Wearables?

Best Reading of the Day

This is a great article over on The New York Times.

There's is quite a bit of history there for context.

There is quite a bit about the full-on Apple push in to luxury brands, etc. with the Apple Watch.

There is the current state and directional expectation.

Well worth reading.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

A sudden, striking influx of glamorous non-techies at a tech hub in California. Grumbles about NDAs. Excited, surreptitious glances. Gossip about disruption. A drumroll for a hitherto hush-hush, industry-upsetting announcement.

Sound familiar?

This is not a description of what is happening today at the Apple event in Cupertino, as the company unveils its new video service and television shows (among other things). It is a description of what happened on Sept. 9, 2014, at the Apple event in Cupertino, where the Apple watch was unveiled. For those of us who remember that day, the run-up to this week has provided an eerie sense of déjà vu.

Not to mention a question: What’s the deal with wearables and fashion?

Here is the full article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/fashion/apple-wearables-fashion

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

My Apple Watch and Why I Don't Miss It

I was among the first users of the shiny new Apple Watch when it was released.  My pre-order was successfully entered a few hours after it opened so it took a few weeks before mine arrived.  Since then I've blogged about it with some regularity.

Initial thoughts were quite positive.  I especially liked how I could tailor the notifications to the watch.  My phone would buzz constantly with emails, work emails, and text messages.  If it buzzed at my watch I knew it was important.  Finally, I could set my phone down and forget about it.

The exercise tracking was nice as well.  An always on way to track everything you do.  The results surprised me.  Some of the things I did that wiped me out (snow shoveling) actually didn't burn a massive amount of calories like I thought it did.  However, the simple acts of walking around and doing little tasks like washing the dishes after dinner burned more than I thought.  Really informative.

Then, something happened.

Reports the first version of the watch had an issue with the battery expanding, enlarging, over time resulted in Apple raising the warranty from 1 year to 3.  The battery would get so large it would pop the device apart, never at a convenient time.

At 3 and a half years my watch flew apart during a workout.  That was about 4 months ago and I haven't worn it since.

I don't miss it.

The benefits have mostly run their course and the drawbacks I hadn't really identified while I was wearing it have at last been revealed.

That 15 minute weightlifting workout that I stretched out to ensure I "got credit" for a workout by hitting the 15 minute mark?  Gone.  I do the same work in 10 minutes now.  I don't have to worry about recharging it, or ensuring it is always on so I "get credit" for whatever I'm doing.  I just do it.  If I go on a run I really want to track my times.  My phone is always present so I just use an app there.  It works.

I don't feel I need the Apple Watch any more and I don't really want it.  I do feel it helped me on my journey to get back in shape but that time has passed, I've learned from having its tracking on me all the time, but I no longer see incremental gains from continuing to wear it.

Here is a great little article from 2016 on smart watches, watches in general, and other options such as the little chronos smart attachment for traditional watches:

https://thenextweb.com/plugged/2016/08/24/an-amateur-watch-collectors-thoughts-on-smartwatches-after-wearing-one-for-a-month/

Here's one great little snippet from that piece:

Perhaps the most important factor in deciding whether a watch is worthy of gracing your wrist is whether you miss it when you’re not wearing it. While I found the Pebble to be handy and good at the things it can do, I didn’t mind switching it for one of my analog watches and not receiving notifications or replying to messages with it. Using my phone doesn’t take much longer, and I’m happy to be able to choose a watch that I enjoy looking at.

So the question then changes doesn't it?  Should you buy a smart watch?  Maybe, but not for the reasons you think. If you want to get really extravagant on your spending and buy one of the GPS fully wireless connected smart watches such as the newest Apple Watches then you'll see lots more benefit over my first edition.  That is exorbitantly expensive though and I don't think most people will go that route.  If you aren't really in tune with your body, your movements, your level of activity then pick one up and wear it for a year or two.  You'll learn a lot about yourself. Power users still have some gains to reap from smart watches with the notifications but you can get a lot of that by simple self control.  Limit your screen time.  Period.

Good luck and Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Payments Update

I've been following mobile payments since I worked in the field a few years ago.  It is interesting in a few ways but mostly because I view it as a leading indicator of overall digital transformation.

Paper money will never die but we are increasingly likely to have our phones with us while having no paper money.

The reason retailers want it is for the digital relationship it enables with their customers.  After all, money isn't broken so what is the real driver of adoption?  Buy 10 coffees at Starbucks and get the 11th for free, that's what is driving adoption.

Here is an update on the state of mobile payment adoption:

https://www.clickz.com/mobile-payments-2019-beyond/222602/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Nike and the Store of the Future ... Today

It started for me with the launch of the Nike Apple Watch.

An Apple Watch branded specific to Nike.  Cool looking too.  There's much more going on there than I realized at first however.  If a loyal Nike customer is wearing that watch, they likely have the Nike app to go with it and ... what happens when that combination goes to a mall near a Nike store?

Bingo.

Nike Stores are really at the cutting edge as this piece talks about.  Here is a snippet from the piece:

Retail isn’t dead, boring retail is. That was the sermon Nike was preaching at its New York City headquarters yesterday in a presentation by chief digital officer Adam Sussman, senior director of Nike Stores Experience Michelle Warvel, and Ron Faris, head of Nike’s SNKRS app and s23 NYC digital studio. The brand is using SNKRS to connect with culture, experimenting with turning experiences into retail opportunities, as well as preparing to roll out in-store features in which customers check out their new kicks with their phone.

I love how that article begins by the way.  So very true!

I talk about the traditional ranking of retailers, Tier 5 the smallest like your local christmas tree vendor, and Tier 1 the largest like Walmart.  There is really a "super tier" now.  Those retailers putting it all together: digital interactions (mobile and social), ecommerce, and a great in-store experience.  They are the very top of the list.  Some companies can do one of those great and succeed but they'll never be the biggest of the big.  Two gets you a long ways but the very best do it all.

Here is the full story:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90256871/nike-showcases-its-mobile-vision-for-the-future-of-retail

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0256 Smart Clothing

Best Reading of the Day

This fine little write-up is well worth your time.

Smart Clothes.

Okay, okay, yes it sounds ridiculous and probably will be for a while yet but crazier things have happened.

What is the utility?  That's the key.  Do we find some in this article?  Judge for yourself.

Here is the full article:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/wearables/levis-smart-jacket-changed-how-i-use-my-phone/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

The cuff on the left arm is woven with a conductive fiber, as well as a special-grade polyester that allows it to act as a touch sensor; the rest of the jacket is traditional Levi’s cotton-based denim. You can feel a slight difference in material when you touch the denim part of the jacket, and then touch the cuff. It’s not easily noticeable, though, which is important to maintaining a traditional look.

I've seen a bit on smart clothing and when it comes to these, even the classic electric blanket, I have to admit I have visions of being enmeshed in electronic clothing that catches fire.  Ugh.  Not a pretty picture.  People, well, most people, got over that for the electric blanket lines.  If there's sufficient benefit to this line of connected clothing then people will buy them.

This prototype takes the same basic approach as the smart watch.  It isn't a replacement for your smart phone, it complements it so you don't have to reach for your phone.  Yes, that right there might be enough to sell units. Not bad.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

The In-Store Shopping Opportunity for Mobile Apps

When I was first imagining the mobile app I would build for regional supermarkets the biggest opportunity I saw was to help reinvent the in-store shopping experience.

Want to find a store?  Don't you already have a favorite supermarket picked out?  Doesn't google do that for you?

After you've been to the store?  What?  Recipes to cook the food you bought?  Sure, but there are a few resources for recipes available already right?

In the store?

Now you're cooking with butter!

(I love that saying)

Walmart is at it in a big way and it is worth following.  With resources I could only dream of they are reimagining the shopping experience.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

With a new mobile app experience, Walmart is hoping to change the way people shop at its brick-and-mortar stores. The multinational retail chain, which now has more than 11,600 stores under 59 banners and ecommerce websites in 11 countries, recently debuted a new mobile app experience that promises to get customers in and out of stores more quickly, reimagining in-person shopping.

Walmart’s new Store Assistant is an all-encompassing mobile app solution...

Here is the full article:

http://streetfightmag.com/2018/02/27/walmart-reimagines-in-store-shopping-experience-with-mobile-update/

Now imagine if none of the past were present and no stores existed today and you wanted to open a store.  What would you do .... today?  Mobile interactions?  Social media interactions?  You bet.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Watch Caught Stealing Signs

RedSox baseball news, and Apple Watch news.

What?

Really?

Yes.

The world she is a changing.

Stealing signs in baseball is where a player somehow "read" the communication between pitcher and catcher to figure out what pitch is coming next.  This is a practice as old as the sport itself.

Do you ever wonder, or have you noticed, pitchers cover their mouths with their gloves when talking with their catchers on the mound?  That's because the San Francisco Giant great Will Clark read the lips of the pitcher and banged another great hit once upon a time.  Changed the game.

Now the RedSox have introduced wearable devices for the same effect, breaking the rules of baseball in the process:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/sports/baseball/boston-red-sox-stealing-signs-yankees.html?mcubz=1

The results?  They've been fined and the practice is discontinued. The amount of the fine is to remain undisclosed and will be donated to hurrican relief in Florida.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20716110/boston-red-sox-new-york-yankees-fined-separately-part-mlb-investigation-sign-stealing

Wow! Tech has taken over sports hasn't it?

Happy ... something,

J.W. Gant

Payments - Wearable Payments Becoming Standard

I have an Apple Watch and have been using it to make payments for years now.  Starbucks, Dunkin, or using Apple Pay at various retailers who accept it through NFC.

Very cool and I always seem to get a reaction from the people around me too.

Well, this is slowly building up and becoming more common.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

It seems like only yesterday the industry first began mulling in-store, in-app and online payments via mobile devices. Now wearables, including smart watches, fitness trackers and other tags, introduce a whole new wrinkle in the space.

The concept of a wearable as a payment system is not new; Wearables enabled with payment capabilities in closed-loop scenarios, like Disney World's Magic Band or similar wearables associated with cruise ships or music festivals, accounted for 82% of wearable-device payments back in 2015. Visa also had a high-profile rollout of NFC payment-enabled bracelets during the 2016 Summer Olympics last year.

Here is the full story:

http://www.retaildive.com/news/study-wearable-payments-on-the-way-to-mainstream/447879/

Happy Reading

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0252 Google's Mobile Behaviors Analysis

Best Reading of the Day

Google is out with another excellent study that is worth your time.  Here's the title:

The Consumer Behaviors Shaping the Next Generation of Mobile Experiences

Now if that doesn't sell you on the read I ... why are you here?

No reason to quote more on this one, just go read it:

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/advertising-channels/mobile/consumer-behavior-mobile-digital-experiences/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Watch is the Best Fitness Tracker

Well, specifically best at a couple things.  Namely heart rate and calorie burn measurements.

I can state I rely on mine for the calorie burn feature and have seen a few studies supporting this conclusion.

What you should know is some of these devices do a really poor job at this.

Read more here:

https://watchaware.com/post/20292/study-apple-watch-best-measures-heart-rate-calorie-burn

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Do Customers WANT to Engage With You?

This headline really caught my eye.  Plenty enough to get me to read it and so should you.

Newsflash From Big Nerd Ranch: ‘Customers Really Don’t Want To Engage With Your Brand’
Here is the story:

http://www.cmo.com/interviews/articles/2017/3/20/the-cmocom-interview-aaron-hillegass-big-nerd-ranch.html#gs.vV1TDPM

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Aaron Hillegass, founder and CEO of Big Nerd Ranch, was involved in one of the most important mergers of our lifetime: He was working at NeXT when it was purchased by Apple. Eventually, though, he left Apple to create Big Nerd Ranch, a training and consulting firm that specializes in creating mobile apps and other emerging technologies.

Nineteen of the top 25 most popular apps, such as Facebook and Spotify, were created by teams who got their training from Big Nerd Ranch. Based in Atlanta, Big Nerd develops native mobile apps and web apps for some of the world’s most respected brands, including Airbnb, Smithsonian Channel, and Nextdoor.

Hillegass is the author of three popular books on software development, including “iOS Development: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide."

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Walgreens Has Beacons in its Mobile App

Want to talk to your customers as they walk through your store?

Walgreens has figured out the way.

Read on:

http://www.businessinsider.com/walgreens-latest-mobile-app-update-pushes-beacons-to-shoppers-2016-11

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Walgreens' latest mobile app update includes an increase in beacon-enabled deals and coupons, reports GeoMarketing.

The company has been testing beacons in its Duane Reade locations since February to push mobile coupons and promotions. And while Walgreens is well poised to see a lift in sales due to such tools, the company has some significant consumer concerns to overcome before adoption spreads.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Wearables Tell Us Who Lost the Most Sleep Election Night

I'm pretty bullish on wearables overall, as I glance at my Apple Watch, and love stories like this.

According to FitBit, that has extensive sleep tracking in many wearable devices, we know which cities lost the most sleep in the U.S. on election night.

Ding, ding.  If you guessed Washington D.C. you were right.

Read on:

http://fortune.com/2016/11/15/fitbit-sleep-election/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Do Wearable Devices Hurt Weight Loss?

Incredible finding, though the causation piece is still a long way from being understood.

A 2 year study finds folks who use activity trackers are less effective at losing weight and keeping off than others who merely log their efforts on a website.

Read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/well/activity-trackers-may-undermine-weight-loss-efforts.html?_r=0

Here is a snippet from the piece:

“We were pretty confident” that the volunteers in the group using the activity monitors would exercise more, monitor their calorie intake better, and lose more weight than the people in the self-monitoring group, says John Jakicic, a distinguished professor in the department of health and physical activity at the University of Pittsburgh and the study’s lead author.

Now, I have the Apple Watch and am quite happy with the activity tracking.  Very curious to see where this goes. I'll go ahead and call it ... you shouldn't abandon these just yet.  Lets see what we can learn as wearable devices go mainstream.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Watch 2.0

I mostly avoid efforts to guess where tech companies are going to go with their products.  This one, however, is an interesting read especially because wearables are such a unique area.  My Apple Watch 1.0 has been very good to me and I'm curious where they are going to go with the next offering.

Here is Bloomberg's story on Apple's efforts for the next iteration of their smart watch:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-18/apple-said-to-hit-roadblocks-in-cutting-watch-ties-to-iphone

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Apple Inc. has hit roadblocks in making major changes that would connect its Watch to cellular networks and make it less dependent on the iPhone, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company still plans to announce new watch models this fall boasting improvements to health tracking.

The updated versions will also be able to integrate GPS-based location tracking, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Watch Saves Another Life

We laugh at these things now, but this is deadly serious.

What if simply wearing a watch could tell you if you are about to die and give you enough notification to do something about it?  Science fiction?  Nope.  On my wrist right now.

The Apple Watch.

Here is a snippet:

“Along with the shortness of breath, I could feel my heart racing in my chest. Stopping to talk to a colleague on the way to my office, the mere act of speaking left me practically gasping for air. I cut the conversation short and continued to my office. Sitting still made me feel better, but not great.

It was then I thought about the heart rate sensor on my Apple Watch. I opened the Heart Rate app, curious to see if my heart rate was actually elevated or if it was just my imagination. It read 118 beats per minute. Definitely not my imagination—my normal resting heart rate is in the low 70s.”

Read on:

http://watchaware.com/post/17679/the-apple-watch-saves-another-life

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Beacons to Explode

That title is pretty killer, and I've been saying much the same for a couple of years now.  The folks over at AdAge.com have a great little article on these.

http://adage.com/article/datadriven-marketing/mobile-beacons-explode-a-silver-bullet/301874/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

In the next five years, hundreds of millions of mobile beacon tracking devices will pepper retail shops, restaurants and malls, observers are predicting. Global brands including Carrefour, Ikea, Macy's, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Target signed contracts with beacon providers in the last quarter, according to ABI Research, and Facebook this summer began distributing the trackers for free to small businesses. But analysts suggest beacons are still not the be-all end-all of real-world tracking.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Watch Usage Survey

This is the best survey of usage of the Apple Watch I've seen or heard of.  Though it leaves out a lot, we can begin to see how people are using the watch and what they are doing.

http://watchaware.com/post/14889/imores-apple-watch-survey

Here is a snippet from the piece:

iMore has done what appears to be the largest Apple Watch survey to date. For two weeks in July, iMore was able to get over 8000 Apple Watch owners to take a survey to understand the usage of their newest wearable. Some of the findings have been truly amazing. Here are a few along with a graphic below.

Models purchased:

• 48% got space gray aluminum.
• 26% got polished stainless steel.
• 20% got silver aluminum.
• 4% got space black.
• Below 1% got yellow gold.
• Below 1% got rose gold.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Android Wearables for iOS

This is a big development.  Android is going to open up the Android Wear platform for interaction with iOS.  You will be able to use your LG Android Watch with your shiny iPhone 6 Plus, or some such interaction.

Very interesting development.  Here is the story:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/08/android-wear-gets-ios-support/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Google has announced that iOS is an officially supported operating system for Android Wear. Users with an iPhone 5, 5C, 5S, 6, or 6 Plus running iOS 8.2 and above will be able to pair with "newer" Android Wear devices, download the app, and be off and running.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Target Tests Mobile Beacons

Wow!

The age of the beacon is upon us (forget the whole idea of the "year of the beacon" we are way beyond that).  I've been waiting for one of the really big retailers (other than Macy's that is doing a TON in mobile) to take on beacons.

Here we go.

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/target-testing-beacons-50-stores-more-stores-features-come

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Target Corp. has made its first major foray into beacon technology as the retailer continues to look for ways to enhance the in-store shopping experience with digital tools.

The retailer announced it is testing beacons at 50 stores nationwide, including locations in Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, New York City, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle. The company said it plans to expand the service to more stores later this year.

Target joins Macy's, GameStop, Lord & Taylor, real estate giant Simon and others that are experimenting with beacons.

Given the Target app already has Apple Watch interactions I expect it will be just a short jump to personalized notifications tapped on your wrist as you walk through Target.  Cool!

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant