Heart Rate Monitors Market has increased due to use of use of medical sensors

Published On: March 2018

New Product Launches: A Step towards innovation

Garmin, an American company offers a wide range of products such as vívoactive 3, Forerunner 645, Forerunner 645 Music, fēnix 5, vívosport, Forerunner 935, and vívosmart 3. The company also operates in other areas such as automotive, aviation, marine, and sport activities. They focuses on distribution strategy intended to increase global penetration and presence in the market. Additionally, the company has made various key developments in the last two years. In January, 2018, the company announced the launch of Forerunner 645 Music, a GPS running watch with integrated music and heart rate monitor to attract more customers in the market. In December, 2017, the company announced the launch of vívofit 4, a daily activity tracker1, which can be paired with a smartphone for additional features. This launch will help the company to expand its product portfolio.

Polar Electro manufactured the first ever wearable heart rate monitor based on Electrocardiogram (ECG) technology, which helped the company to achieve a reasonable growth in the market. In August, 2017, the company launched Polar OH1, optical heart rate sensor for the upper or lower arm. In May, 2017, the company launched Polar A370, a fitness tracker with Polar 24/7 continuous wrist-based heart rate and Polar Sleep Plus analytics.

Integration of Healthcare and Technology

Evolution of technology in the healthcare can be traced through the shift from the use of non-wearable devices to wearable devices such as smart watches and chest straps. The growth of this industry is attributed to the development of innovative healthcare solutions through the integration of medical science and healthcare information technology. Heart rate monitors are embedded with sensors using various technological approaches, thereby signifying the need for innovative solutions in pulse trackers.

Heart rate monitors market is driven by increasing use of medical sensors by the people for tracking various physical parameters such as heart rate, cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and rising prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes across the globe. According to the International Diabetic Federation, in 2015, about 415 million people across the globe were reported to have diabetes and this number is expected to reach 642 million by 2040.  Furthermore, key players in the market are now offering a wide range of heart rate monitoring devices with a focus of increasing customer base and sustain market growth. However, growth of the market is retrained by high cost of wearable heart rate monitors.

The market in Americas is driven by concentration of key players in the U.S. such as Fitbit Inc. and Apple and increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. Fitbit Inc. is the largest player in global heart rate monitor market. Key strategic approaches followed by the company are to encourage investments in other companies, products, and technologies and to implement go-to-market strategy to reach the customer regardless of his location of shopping. Apple is the second largest player which manufactures and markets wearable heart rate monitors. The company focuses on brand loyalty and product differentiation. Apple watch and heart rate app are two most popular products offered by the company.

A Need to Strengthen the Asia Pacific Healthcare Industry

Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market whose growth is attributed to the increasing prevalence of various chronic diseases as mentioned earlier. As per the International Diabetic Federation in 2015, 3.7% of the total Asian population was diagnosed with chronic heart disease, while 21% of the people had hypertension. Additionally, 98.4 million and 65.1 million diabetic population lived in China and India respectively in 2015. Furthermore, development of medical device industry in developing economies such as Japan, China and India also fuels the market growth in Asia Pacific region.

Key players operating in heart rate monitors market are Apple (U.S.), Garmin Ltd.(U.S.), Visiomed Group (France), SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS Co. Ltd. (South Korea), Nike (U.S.), Fitbit Inc. (U.S.), Mio Global (South Korea), Beurer GmbH (Germany), Omron Healthcare (Japan), Inc., LG Electronics (South Korea), nu-beca & maxcellent co. (Taiwan), Polar Electro (Finland), TomTom International BV (The Netherlands), Motorola Solutions, Inc. (U.S.), Sony (Japan), and others.

Market in the Americas

The Americas is the largest market followed by Europe. As per the American Heart Association, about 92.1 million Americans were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease in 2017. As per the Centre for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), 28.4 million adults were diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases in the U.S. alone in 2015. Additionally, rising awareness about cardiovascular diseases and emphasis on preventive care fuel the market growth. As per the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) 2014 statistics, the U.S. medical device market is valued at more than USD 140 billion in 2015, which accounts for approximately 45% of the global market. It also stated that the U.S. medical device industry will remain competitive with major players focusing on international sales, joint ventures, mergers and acquisition strategies.