14 DAY TRIAL // Time is ticking away for what was once the most reliable time-telling piece: fewer and fewer people use a wristwatch to tell time, relying instead on more modern and multi-functional gadgets.
These days, a wristwatch is more of a statement piece than an actually useful accessory, since most of us already have other gadgets at hand that also tell time.
This has prompted many to speculate that the era of the wristwatch is actually drawing to an end; figures made available through a recent survey by Mintel (and cited by the Daily Mail) would surely seem to indicate that.
In a context in which more and more own at least a mobile phone and a PC, and in which multi-functional gadgets come to replace those that can only do one thing, it’s not that surprising that demand for the basic watch is decreasing.
In fact, demand for it has taken such a hit that one in seven people believe they have “no reason” to wear a watch, since they can just as well tell the time from their PC, mobile, laptop or other device of the kind.
The vast majority of those who agreed to take part in the survey admit to telling time using these, more modern gadgets – even if they have a watch.
Comparatively, the Mintel survey has revealed, 86 percent of those queried still owned a watch, but more than 9 in 10 also had a cell phone.
As expected, 25-year-olds or younger are more likely not to use a watch, twice if compared to people in their 40s or 50s. 28 percent of youngsters don’t even own one.
“Sales of watches have remained flat over the last few years and watchmakers are struggling to convince shoppers that expensive timepieces are worth the money,” the Mail says based on the findings.
“Many consumers have grown up with technology and are just as likely to associate the notion of checking the time with a mobile handset as with a watch,” Tamara Sender of Mintel says for the aforementioned publication.
“As they grow older this mindset will accompany them,” Sender believes.