Almost three quarters of 16 to 24-year-olds have used or hold an interest in wearable technology, according to new figures published by GlobalWebIndex.

The research shows that at a global level, 64 per cent of internet users between the ages of 16-64 have said that they’d already used a piece of wearable tech, or would be keen to do so in the future.

When genders were compared it was found that 69 per cent of male internet users have an interest in wearables, while 56 per cent of female web users are also keen on the technology.

The findings come as lukewarm figures were released by research house Mintel recently, which showed just how tentative UK consumers have so far behaved towards smartwatch devices.

The figures showed that a problem area for consumers centres around practicality of the technology, with some buyers worried about what they’d actually use the device for, while also posing the question as to whether wearables actually further the functions they can already carry out on their smartphones.

UK consumers have also suggested that they would prefer to take devices for a trial period, with research revealing that 44 per cent of those interested would like to try out a smartwatch before parting with their cash.

However, despite these figures, one sector to already benefit from the introduction of the technology and its associated world of apps is the health and fitness industry, where fitness application usage spiked 62 per cent in six months during 2014.

The boom in fitness-related technology has also caused electronics businesses to predict mass activity over the Christmas period. In the UK, for example, three fitness-monitoring devices have claimed the top spots on Currys & PC World’s 'Top Ten Christmas 2014 Tech Gifts' list.