NEW YORK: Fitbit can give tough time to Apple Watch and may have even outsold the device in the US in May, according to estimates from one market researcher.
Slice Intelligence estimated this week that Fitbit sold 850,000 fitness trackers in May, while Apple sold 777,000 watches. Slice came up with the figures using data from the email receipts of 2.5 million online shoppers who agreed to share data with the company.
The Apple Watch has many of the functions in Fitbit’s products, leading to speculation that sales of dedicated fitness trackers would plummet after the watch launched. So far, that doesn’t seem to be the case, according to Slice, which found only 4.8 percent of Fitbit buyers also purchased an Apple Watch.
Fitbit’s financial prospects have set investors’ hearts aflutter since the company went public last month. On Fitbit’s first day of trading, its stock opened at $30.40, 52 percent higher than the price Fitbit set for its debut. On Wednesday, its shares were trading at around US$40, buoyed by an investment firm’s report that said wearables are seeing mainstream adoption.
