Fitbit or Apple Watch? Activity Trackers Still Win

Everyone and their mother got a Fitbit for Christmas. But Santa's sleigh may be brimming with a different type of wearable this year.

While fitness tracker sales continue to soar, the smartwatch is becoming increasingly popular among consumers, The NPD Group finds. A new report explores wearable technology choices among different exercise groups. And though health-conscious devices lead the majority of categories (accounting for more than double the smartwatch base), the gap is narrowing.

Runners are the first group to show more interest in smartwatches; 22 percent of owners say they run on a regular basis, compared to 21 percent of activity tracker users, according to NPD.

"While we are seeing that some forms of exercise are more likely to be impacted by the smartwatch, there are still a number of consumers that are planning to purchase activity trackers to monitor their fitness," Eddie Hold, president of NPD Group's Connected Intelligence, said in a statement.

"Claims that the smartwatch would lead to the death of the activity tracker have so far proved unfounded," he continued. "Activity trackers have a strong target audience and are continuing to evolve."

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But while "the activity tracker became the device of choice for the middle-aged consumer looking to get in better shape by starting an exercise routine...that's not where the story has to end," Hold said.

According to Hold, companies should be getting creative, broadening their portfolios, and combining "specialist functions with generalist capabilities" to reach more consumers.