New Wearables, Monitored Services to Drive PERS Device Growth, Says Parks

More than 6 million people will use a PERS (personal emergency response system) device by 2021, up from 3.36 million at the end of last year, Parks Associates reported Wednesday. New bring-your-own-device wearable/watch options and professionally monitored services such as GreatCall will drive growth, it said. Growth in elderly populations will cause some growth, said analyst Jennifer Kent, saying user-centric fitness trackers and smartwatches put pressure on PERS manufacturers to incorporate smart features. Partnerships such as MobileHelp’s with Samsung, with the emergency services provider offering a Gear S3 smartwatch as its PERS device, will also fuel the market, she said. Samsung and MobileHelp announced at CES they're partnering on a customized Gear S3 for emergency response use.