Fitbit has pulled its trackers out of almost 30 international locations or territories, based mostly on a determination from father or mother firm Google to “align” Fitbit and Pixel gross sales extra intently. An business knowledgeable instructed me this was a “prudent” determination on Google’s half. But it nonetheless has me apprehensive that Google has no plan for Fitbit past its common conservative gross sales M.O.
Sunday Runday
In his weekly column, our Senior Editor of Wearables and Fitness Michael Hicks discusses the world of smartwatches, apps, and health tech associated to working and well being, in his quest to get quicker and healthier (and provide help to do the identical).
Fitbit first minimize its units from 5 APAC international locations again in August, then 11 European international locations on October 24, and at last Mexico, Puerto Rico, and 10 Latin American international locations at an unspecified (but latest) time. More a shamed whisper than an announcement, this information wasn’t broadly identified till 9to5Google noticed the assist web page on Thursday.
Google’s reluctance to broaden Pixel gross sales out of a few international locations or to maintain particular merchandise from international locations is infamous. Our Senior Asia Editor, Harish Jonnalagadda, has written at size about Google’s {hardware} errors in India, as an example, and Google additionally pissed off foldable followers by limiting the Pixel Fold to a handful of international locations.
General Pixel availability has expanded — the Pixel 5 bought in lower than 10 international locations, whereas the Pixel 8 is present in 17 international locations — but it’s nonetheless very sluggish and methodical in comparison with Samsung or Apple. With Google apps changing into a main characteristic of Fitbit merchandise, it makes sense that Google would not need to waste assets promoting merchandise the place it has no foothold.
However, simply because one thing makes sense doesn’t suggest it’s the proper determination.
Where is Fitbit nonetheless out there?
In a assertion to Android Authority, Google defined that they “will cease promoting Fitbit merchandise in choose international locations to align our {hardware} portfolio to map nearer to Pixel’s regional availability.” So, the place can you continue to purchase new Fitbits?
This is the present record:
- North America: Canada, United States
- Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
- Asia & Pacific: Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan
This is the record of former Fitbit international locations with no new {hardware} gross sales shifting ahead:
- Americas: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela
- Europe: Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia
- Asia & Pacific: Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Phillipines, Thailand
Google and Fitbit have promised to proceed software program assist, guarantee claims, and customer support in these international locations, but just for older Fitbits, not newer trackers just like the Fitbit Charge 6. Fitbit Premium auto-renewals additionally ended, although you may manually “resubscribe to Premium within the Fitbit cell app,” not less than for now.
Why reducing Fitbit’s world availability makes sense
I requested Jitesh Ubrani, analysis supervisor for IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, if Google made the suitable or fallacious determination to drag Fitbit out of its conventional markets. He responded that “it’s not about Google doing proper or fallacious; it’s about Google being prudent.”
As Ubrani defined, within the rising markets Fitbit fled, Fitbit’s market share “was fairly low and trending downwards.” Why? Because customers both gravitate in the direction of “world manufacturers reminiscent of Apple and Samsung” or “low-cost, value-oriented manufacturers reminiscent of Xiaomi, Amazfit, or Huawei.”
“Fitbit has been unable to ascertain itself on the excessive finish because it solely provided wearables…on the low finish, it confronted an excessive amount of competitors on worth from the Chinese manufacturers.”
Xiaomi and Amazfit, kings of low-cost but high-quality health trackers, technically profit from Google’s determination, but Ubrani believes their features might be “minimal” as a result of Fitbit’s new shipments have been “lower than 1% share of smartwatches + wristbands” in some of the affected territories.
In this context, it appears completely legitimate that Google, having spent $2.1 billion on Fitbit, would minimize its losses in markets the place it’s unlikely ever to recoup its funding. It will nonetheless assist present Fitbit prospects to keep away from dangerous blood, within the unlikely occasion it ever decides to return to those secondary markets.
Google missed a chance to kill two birds with one stone
Fitbit has fallen from its gross sales glory days. Counterpoint’s 2022 wearable report discovered Fitbit dropping from Seventh-ranked in world gross sales in 2021 to tenth in 2022. But to be clear, Counterpoint attributed this particularly to Fitbit and Google “failing to defend their share of their major markets like North America” (emphasis mine).
Google’s tenure as Fitbit proprietor has been outlined by the phrase “no.” No extra Google Assistant, no extra third-party apps, no extra Fitbit accounts, no extra Wi-Fi downloads, and so forth. It’s the definition of “my means or the freeway.”
Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4 gross sales suffered from this method. I’m undecided how the Charge 6 will promote, but I had one main Google-related annoyance in my evaluate: the insistence that it solely helps YouTube Music playback controls when any low-cost health tracker often has common playback controls.
In different phrases, Google and Fitbit have larger issues than simply being overextended. So a lot in order that they did not see Fitbit’s widespread identify recognition as the chance it was, and shortly minimize their losses.
Ubrani’s level that Fitbit won’t ever compete as a worth model towards $50 Amazfit trackers makes whole sense. But if Fitbit could not “set up itself on the excessive finish because it solely provided wearables,” the answer was apparent: use Fitbit as your foot within the door to broaden Pixels to extra international locations.
They might have trusted the incredible Pixel 8 to realize recognition whereas suggesting that Fitbits are “Best with Pixel” and tying its health wagon to an thrilling new {hardware} possibility. They might even have bought the telephone with a free Fitbit tracker as a pre-order perk.
Maybe I’m naive, and Google execs might clarify why it’s inconceivable to promote Fitbits or Pixels in Mexico, Poland, and dozens of different spurned international locations. But what I do know is that Google’s conservative monetary technique will persuade individuals there that Google would not see them as well worth the effort, they usually’ll keep in mind.
Let’s hope the tip is not nigh
Calling Google’s determination a “portent of doom” may sound a bit dramatic. But it’s dramatic to slice your subbrand’s international locations in half, and Google’s status for reducing its losses and killing manufacturers is well-known.
I can image a worst-case state of affairs the place Google grows drained of Fitbit’s struggles with out addressing the trigger, shoves its helpful tech into its Pixel lineup, and lets Fitbit die. Or maybe Google will begin promoting Fitbits as Pixel Bands or Pixel Watch Lites, with the flagship Pixel Watch 2 snagging all the most effective options.
Taking this path may make followers of Android smartwatches joyful, but it might rub many Fitbit customers the fallacious means — particularly since Fitbit is in style with iOS customers, and the Pixel identify implies Android exclusivity.
A pair of months again, I wrote about three potential paths Fitbit may take within the close to future:
- Challenge Apple Fitness Plus with extra exercises, licensed music, and different flashy perks.
- Challenge Garmin by making the Daily Readiness Score extra helpful for recommending particular health routines based mostly in your health stage
- Go all-in on Google apps.
As I mentioned then, the final possibility “appears to be the trail Google and Fitbit have chosen,” and this newest information about Google limiting Fitbit solely reaffirms that perception. Google spent $2.1 billion on Fitbit for what it was, having no plans for the place it ought to transcend shoving a lot of Google tech inside.
I want, as an alternative, that Google would unleash Fitbit’s full potential by investing in it after which letting it run unfastened, giving prospects the concept they’re getting premium options in inexpensive {hardware} with out Big Tech meddling.
But as we have seen in numerous enterprise acquisitions, issues hardly ever work out that neatly for the businesses which are purchased.