Wearable devices such as smartwatches and fitness trackers have failed to impress customers, which reportedly caused low sales in 2016.

The wearable market in the United States has been slowgoing than expected. It was initially estimated that the number of wearable owners in the U.S. would eventually grow by more than 60% in this year. However, eMarketer was forced to lower its growth expectations at only 24.7%.

Regardless of the enthusiasm from early adopters, manufacturers of wearable devices failed to impress and convince consumers to buy their products as what tech experts have thought of. The eMarketer report estimates that roughly 40 million adults in the U.S. use an internet-connected wearable device at least once a month, which is far from the previous estimate of 63.7 million. Moreover, only 30% of people aged 18 to 34 use a wearable device; meaning, wearables are more popular among young adults.

Furthermore, consumers prefer cheap wearables rather than high-end devices like Apple Watch, which is sold at $369. According to eMarketer forecasting analyst Monica Peart, younger adults tend to get into the wearable market basically with fitness trackers --- attracted by a lower price point and a clear use case, iTECH POST reported.

Today, health and fitness tracking remain among the key selling points for wearable devices --- causing fitness trackers dominate the market even before the Apple Watches arrived. Given that higher prices are compararable with standard fitness trackers, everyone hasn't been entirely convinced on why they would need a smartwatch in the first place. In addition, even though smartwatches have more features, there is no clear use case because they are greatly overran with a smartphone's functionality.

In contrast with this issue, Apple has debunked it and bragged about Apple Watch's success as compared with its own previous sales. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the watch's sales hit a record during the holiday season's first week ---  with the current quarter on track at its best yet. Apple has also released a new version of its smartwatch ahead of this year's holiday season, aiming to increase its sales.