SAN FRANCISCO -- The global flexible electronics market will more than quadruple over the next nine years, a new study projects.

Demand for wearables such as smart watches and glasses, e-books and smartphones will push sales from $20.85 billion last year to $87.2 billion by 2024, says Grand View Research. Escalating demand for compact and light-weight electronic devices is anticipated to fuel growth over the forecast period.

The consumer electronics segment accounted for over 55% of the overall revenue in 2015. The year 2014 witnessed the onset of new curved televisions, smartphones, and other electronic devices; a trend that gained traction in 2015, and is expected to impact flexible electronics demand favorably from 2016 to 2024 owing to high penetration in the wearables segment.

Wearable devices accounted for over 40% of the overall revenue in 2015 and is expected to witness a healthy demand over the forecast period. The firm attributes the growth to demand for fitness or activity trackers as these products are well-positioned in the market with a promise of tracking productivity, physical activity, heart rate, sleep, etc. that intrigues customers

Flexible batteries, displays, memories are a few products realized with the adoption of this technology. The technology provides ample opportunities in the area of smart textiles, what the firm calls the "future of wearables." Government support in the form of funding that lends a helping hand to several research projects in this field is also anticipated to impact the industry growth positively.

Flex circuit technology facilitates electronic systems to be stretched, rolled, and flexed, minimizing design issues associated while developing compact, portable and miniature devices. The style and functionality of wearable devices is anticipated to witness a transition over the next eight years with companies such as Samsung, Apple, Nike and Google investing heavily in this segment, thereby providing avenues for discovering novel applications incorporating this technology.

A final segment, displays, is projected to grow at a CAGR exceeding 16% over the forecast period. Among the areas of growth is plastic displays as an alternative to glass displays.

Asia-Pacific accounted for over 20% of the overall revenue share in 2015.

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