The GPS industry has been changing for several years, but no matter what everyone says or the dire predictions, Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom are still around. Every industry goes through ups and downs and some major changes, and from all appearances, it seems that Garmin has come out ahead in the game.
In fact, Garmin held two of the top three spots on the “Holiday Best Sellers” list on Amazon this 2016 season. Although there weren’t any stats for how many sold, that’s still pretty good news for a company that most, a couple of years ago, were convinced was on its way out.
According to Wearable.com, the two Garmin products that flew out of Amazon warehouses this Christmas season were the Garmin Vivofit and Garmin Vivoactive HR smartwatch. Samsung Gear VR was also listed in the top three.
Garmin introduced the first Vivoactive watch last year, although this year saw an upgrade in the popular device with some additional features, smartphone connectivity, and a similar price mark to previous editions. You can purchase the device on Amazon currently for around $250 (currently on sale for $200).
The Vivofit, by contrast, is really more of an activity tracker than a GPS watch and while i tdoes track steps and such, it’s not something we really cover here as it’s a little out there for a company that built its products around GPS technology. However, it seems that the company has read the market correctly with this device. You can pick up a vivofit for $50 – $70, depending on the model and color.
Generally speaking, Amazon is one of the best places to gauge sales trends, and this bodes very well for Garmin.
So, did you get anyone a GPS smartwatch, running watch, or even a fitness tracker for Christmas? Did you get one in your stocking? Tell me below!
