Oura to sell its smart ring on Amazon as competition from Apple, Samsung intensifies | Wilnesh News

Oura will now sell its smart rings on AmazonIts latest retail expansion comes as the health and wellness wearables segment continues to grow.

Starting Thursday, Oura will offer a full selection of rings and accessories to U.S. shoppers on Amazon through its private-label stores. It will also sell sizing kits to help customers find the right size and then offer them a discounted price equal to the cost of the sizing kit.

Oura’s new e-commerce approach builds on its announced partnership with Amazon Best Buy Last year, the company got its first large-scale retail opportunity in the United States. Previously, the company mainly sold products directly to consumers through its website.

“Amazon is a natural step for us,” said Doug Sweeny, Oura’s chief marketing officer. “It’s a huge ecosystem and it’s very important in terms of product reviews and search.”

Sweeny, who joined Oura in October 2022, said the company has seen success with word-of-mouth marketing and consumers discovering the product in retail stores. Sweeney said that on Amazon’s platform, it has partnered with the e-commerce company to ensure “education, experiences and stories about the products and benefits.”

While this doesn’t mean a major change to Oura’s existing marketing approach, Sweeny said the two-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company recognizes that putting its products on Amazon can target “a very, very broad range of people who want to be marketed.” Proactive people.” and take care of their health. “

The move comes as Oura faces new challenges from Samsung in the smart ring category and other wearable devices that add more health benefits.

Samsung’s latest wearable device, the Galaxy Ring, is expected to launch this year and will feature health tracking features including heart rate and sleep monitoring, while also providing users with a rating of their readiness for the day.

Apple is also adding more health features to its line of watches, while Garmin’s business continues to grow as more consumers seek more ways to track workouts and fitness levels.

Amazon has been one of its direct competitors in devices targeting people’s wrists, fingers and other body parts. But the market, while worth billions of dollars, has undergone a shakeout in recent years. Amazon discontinued the Halo wearable device last April, citing in part a crowded market. Fitbit, an early leader in wearables, was acquired by Google a few years ago and integrated into the Google Pixel Watch by Alphabet.

In the past, Oura has set itself apart from other wearables by placing a heavy emphasis on sleep-related data. In recent years, however, the company has expanded far beyond other biometric areas. The rings are equipped with research-grade sensors that can track everything from heart rate to body temperature to sleep cycles. This data is then analyzed to provide insights into activity and exercise, stress levels and overall health.

To date, more than one million Dala rings have been sold, according to Dala. The company has raised more than $148 million in total funding and was valued at $2.55 billion in April 2022.

Sweeny said launching the Oura ring on Amazon will help the company better educate consumers about the product and the health benefits of tracking those metrics, and why ring-based wearables are preferable to devices worn on the wrist. .

As for Samsung potentially entering the ring, Sweeney said Oura sees it as “a positive thing.”

“This is validation of the category,” he said. “We work very tirelessly on experiences and really creating the best products possible, but we welcome Samsung into this category and ultimately we see this as a truly symbolic moment of our time.”