• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, April 28, 2016

Wearable devices aren’t just for collecting, aggregating and analyzing personal data for the individual wearing the device.

Marketers are looking to tap into that data.

Fitness trackers can provide a consumer with great activity insight from throughout the day or week and even benchmark against others. Along with other features, smartwatches can be used to tap and pay.

All of these things will happen more and more as the number of wearable devices reaches 650 million by 2020, according to a new report conducted by Ovum for Criteo.

At the moment, most wearables are companion devices, with the companion being the smartphone. But for advertising on wearables, the big limitation is the miniature screen.

However, that doesn’t mean marketers don’t see value in the devices.

The key benefit of wearables is a source of very granular data insights along with new types of behavioral and usage data, according to the Ovum study of marketers.

That data can be used to enhance and tailor both products and marketing messaging to a very high degree, says Ovum.

In terms of value to marketers, daily routine data is at the top of the list. Here are the wearable data streams that represent the most valuable marketing opportunity, according to the study:

• 38% -- Daily routine data
• 37% -- Precise location data
• 30% -- Device usage data
• 27% -- General fitness/health data
• 25% -- Movement data
• 22% -- Exercise/workout/running data
• 21% -- Direction and/or velocity data
• 20% -- Eye tracking/where consumer is looking
• 17% -- Emotional state/stress data

While advertising may not soon find a direct home on the tiny screens people wear on their wrists, the data that comes from those devices may be used to better define what messaging a consumer experiences as they go through their daily lives.