Hole in one
Garmin is on a tear, launching another specialty watch. Following on from the MARQ Captain sailors watch a few weeks ago, the company has now launched a deluxe golfing watch – the MARQ Golf. It includes all the usual features such as heart rate monitoring, navigation and up to 2,000 stored songs, as well as color maps of 41,000 golf courses, including details of hazards such as sand traps. The Virtual Caddy function can also analyze wind speed and course layout to help you pick the right club for the ultimate shot. Let’s hope it helps, because golfers will be paying for these features: the watch starts at $2,150.
The NPD Take:
- Garmin is clearly making a play for the high end consumer (first sailing enthusiasts, now golfers) which targets the high end watch market that is starting to grow legs. Whether the functionality provided will persuade these customers away from the likes of Tissot and other classic watches remains to be seen.
Apple on sale
This past weekend saw another smartphone deal: the Apple Watch series 5 was available for $329, $100 off from the regular price at Amazon. These are likely to be flash sales that only last for a weekend at a time, but it shows that the smartwatch market is coming under competitive pricing pressures.
The NPD Take:
- As we’ve noted before, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on smartwatch sales, with far lower volumes selling. The reasons are several: retail store closures, consumers not going out as much to exercise (and gyms closed), and many potential purchasers deciding that now is not the time to spend money on unnecessary consumer electronics. Sales such as this one will help boost volumes.