Fitness Watch user habits in the UK – UK Survey results

From Fitbit Fanatics to Garmin Watch warriors, to Apple Watch idolizers and Samsung smartwatch suitors, use of Fitness Watches here in the UK is booming. In a survey conducted by FitstrapsUK, 1047 respondents from the UK shared their thoughts on all things fitness watches and how much the use of their Fitness watch assisted them when it came to a healthy and active lifestyle. 

Top statistics  

The average responder has owned a total of 2.2 different fitness watches since purchasing their first one. The average lifetime spend so far on fitness watches per user was between £300 -£400  

The highest spending parts of the UK were the South East of England and the South West of England with an average between £750 - £1000 total. The East of England was the second highest spending region with an average spends of between £650 - £750 total. 

The lowest spenders were Cymru Wales, North East & Cumbria and Northern Ireland all with an average total fitness watch spending bill of between £50 -£150.

Those aged between 34- 45 years old have changed their Fitness Watches the most often with an average of 3 Fitness Watches owned. Unsurprisingly this also led to them also being the highest spending age group with an average across the age group of between £750 - £1000. 

Older responders favoured Fitbit branded fitness watches

Of the 56-64 age group 57.3% of responders owned a Fitbit Watch

and of the 65+ age group 62.2% of responders age group owned a Fitbit Watch

Garmin Watches were most popular with the 34-45 age groups with 38% of this age group owning a Garmin Watch.

Apple Watches were most popular within the youngest age group 18-24 with 44% of this age group owning an Apple Watch

Which features were used most often?

How often do Fitness Watch owner’s user their watches?

Most Fitness Watch owners use their fitness watches on a regular basis with 85.2% of responders stating they use their watch every single day of the week. This number was even higher among user of Fitbit branded watches with 89.4% of the Fitbit group stating they used their watch every day of the week.

Only 3.6% of responders stated they use their watch less than 3 days per week.

Responders in the older age groups used their fitness watch most regularly with 90% the 55-64 age group using their watch every day of the week and a massive 94% of the 65+ age group using their watch 7 days a week. 

How active were users of each brand of Fitness Watch?

Fitbit watch users were the most active on a daily basis with 46% of this group putting their estimated daily step count in the 7000-10,000 steps per day range.

Garmin watch users took the most regular exercise with 32.9% of this group stating that they exercised for 20 minutes or more 5+ times per week.

Which age groups of Fitness watch users were most active?

The age group with the highest daily step count was the 55-64 age group with 42% putting themselves within the 7000-10,000 steps per day range.

The age group that took the most regular exercise was the 46-55 age group with 28.7% of this group stating that they exercised for 20 minutes or more 5+ times per week.

Which features would users consider upgrading for?

The familiar fitness watch gripe about battery life was the feature that responders said would prompt them to upgrading to a new fitness watch with 54% of the survey choosing this option. More accurate activity tracking features was the second highest answer 38.8% and more accurate GPS with 23.7% was the third.

Apple Watch users made the complaint about longer battery life the most often with 72.4% of this group saying this would be a feature they would consider upgrading for. Although this would be unfair to single out Apple Watches for this as this was the reason that also came out on top for Fitbit users (67.8%) and also with Garmin (56.5%) 

Who changed up their watch strap on their watch the most regularly?

Once per year – 25%

Twice per year – 22.7%

Once every 2 years – 21.8%

Have never updated it yet- 16.3%

3 or 4 times per year – 9.5%

5 or more times per year- 5.4%

25% of the fitness watch users in the survey said that they would change their watch strap on their fitness watch once per year. With 22.7% answering twice per year, there was also a more fashion conscious minority of 5.4% who opted to updated the replacement strap 5 or more times per year. 

Fitbit Straps are changed the most often

Fitbit Strap users were the most regular watch strap changers with 26.3% of users in this group changing Fitbit Straps at least twice per year and 8.6% changing their Fitbit Straps more than 5 or more times per year. The age group who would change up their Fitbit Straps the most frequently was the 46-55 age range. Find the best selection of Straps for Fitbit here- 

 Garmin Watch Straps are changed less regularly

Garmin Watch Straps were changed slightly less regularly with 21.5% of this group changing watch straps at least twice per year. A very small percentage of Garmin Watch owners changed their Garmin Straps over more than 5 times per with only 3.2% of Garmin watch strap users ticking this box.  Again the age group with the most regular Garmin watch strap changes was the 46-55 age group. The group who switched up their Garmin watch straps least of often was the 25-33 age group. Find Garmin Watch Straps here

Apple Watch Straps are changed the least regularly

Apple Watch Straps we changed by users the least regularly of any of the groups that responded to the survey. Of all of the Apple Watch strap users questioned 24.5% of them stated that they would only change their Apple Watch strap once every 2 years. Only 16% of those asked said they would change up their Apple Watch band at least twice per year.

The age group who elected to switch up their Apple Watch Straps on the most regular basis   was the  34-45 age group. The least likely to switch up their Apple Watch Strap regularly was the 25-33 age range.

This may or may not have been in relation to the regular confusion about changing Apple Watch Straps which many Apple Watch users face. A guide to help assist with all Apple Watch Strap problems can be found here

The part of the UK that changed up the watch strap of their fitness watch the most regularly was the North West of England (Between 3-4 times per year) 

Take home message of the FitstrapsUK study

Ultimately, when it comes to fitness watches and spending habits here in the UK, our study shows there is a price point out there for every type of fitness watch user. We found no correlation in our study between the amount spend on fitness watches and the amount of regular usage. Along with the fact that users from all parts of the fitness watch spending spectrum claimed that they felt that their fitness watch was a worthwhile investment in their health, with 93.8% of responders answering yes to this question. In addition to this 84.7% of responders from the study stated that they found that their fitness watch gave them added motivation to stick to their health and fitness goals.

We also found the regularity of fitness watches usage to be extremely high among fitness watch owners in our survey, pointing to the fact that the majority of fitness watch users get a lot of usage from their watch.

As an active lifestyle seems to be becoming more and more popular across all ages ranges, paired with the fact us brits love to keep a close eye on the data as much as possible. We see the trend of fitness watch usage across the UK to continue to grow over the years ahead despite what is predicted to be a tricky Christmas due to the current financial conditions.  

We hope this you found this study into fitness watch usage here in the UK as interesting as we did. If any of your close friends or family are currently on the fence about getting themselves a fitness watch, then make sure you share this article with them via the buttons below.