It's time for smartwatches A smartwatch is a wristwatch with smartphone-like functions that alert you when you have an incoming call, a new e-mail message or an upcoming appointment. It is usually paired with a smartphone via Bluetooth. The new wave of smartwatches tells their wearers how many steps they have taken in a day and monitor their heart rates, giving them the functions found in GPS sports watches made by Garmin, Polar and others. According to market research around 2,000 smartwatches were sold in the first quarter of 2014 in Singapore. In the third quarter, nearly 10,000 smartwatches were sold. Casio Edifice EQB-500 It looks just like a classic chronograph timepiece with a case, bezel and watch band all made of stainless steel. The giveaways to the smart features are in the form of tiny icons on the watch face. It has an analogue watch dial with four sub-dials, which display world time, 24-hour time, AM/PM and watch mode. The watch supports only selected iPhones and Samsung smartphones. Pairing involves using the Casio Watch+ app on a smartphone and a Bluetooth connection. It has the ability to sync the watch with the smartphone's time, handy when travelling across time zones. The watch also lets you find your phone should you misplace it, even without a Bluetooth connection. But the app must be running on the phone. It also comes with an indicator when an e-mail message arrives. Powered by Casio Tough Solar power system, this watch can practically last forever as long as you leave it to charge under the sun or in a lit room.

(a) Discuss three (3) product differentiation strategies that can be adopted by Casio to set the Casio Edifice EQB-500 smartwatch apart from its competitors. (9 marks) (b) Discuss one (1) social factor and one (1) personal factor that can influence consumer behaviour regarding the purchase of a smartwatch like the Casio Edifice EQB-500. (6 marks) (c) Apply the buying decision process to explain how a consumer reaches a decision when purchasing a smartwatch. (15 marks)