Consumer Behavior

Consumers’ Perceived Risks Associated with Wearable Device Adoption

---

Abstract

The saturated mobile device market accelerated brands’ quest for innovative products such as wearable devices (WDs), often equipped with sensors, touchpads, internet, and processors. In previous WD studies, several types of perceived risks have been sporadically examined, mostly imitated the risk perception of other mobile devices and internet usage. However, no literature comprehensively addresses risks about WD usage, partly due to the lack of good measurements. To address this literature gap, this study used a content analysis approach to explore risks that consumers perceive about WDs as the initial step to develop a measurement. Two coders categorized 133 text segments (from Quora answers and Amazon product reviews) into one of seven coding themes of risks: product performance, style, motivation, financial, physical, privacy, and brand. Product performance was the most frequently expressed risk followed by style concern, financial risks, and motivational risks. Surprisingly, privacy risks and physical risks received less attention.

How to Cite:

Kader, M., (2018) “Consumers’ Perceived Risks Associated with Wearable Device Adoption”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 75(1).