How the practice of commercializing comes together and falls apart in a market of wearable technologies

Wearable technologies, or wearables, are a combination of design and technology worn on one’s body. Regardless of initial optimistic forecasts for wearables’ market growth, there are few examples of successfully commercialized wearables, except those by technology giants like Apple. In contrast, start-ups developing wearables, while numerous, struggle to survive. The goal of this study is to explore how wearable technology is commercialized on a new market and what role consumers play in commercializing of these wearables. Previous studies on commercializing failures suggest that this is due to poor design of wearables, inappropriate business models, or an extended time lag needed for customers to accept such novel technology. In this article, we add to the ongoing discussion by approaching the commercializing process as an integrative practice that consists of materials, skills, and meanings. Drawing on three examples of wearable start-ups that correspond to a proto-practice, reproduced practice, and ex-practice, we analyze how the practice of wearables’ commercializing takes shape, perpetuates and falls apart, what problems accompany the practice, as well as how an understanding of commercializing can go beyond a traditional interpretation of profit increase. We argue that although mass consumption of wearables is yet to be seen, consumers contribute significantly to the formation of the practice of commercializing and integration of its elements, along with other elements and carriers of the practice. Therefore, our aim is to pinpoint the complexity and multiplicity of the commercialization process by outlining different participants in the market.