Ralph Lauren announced it is entering the wearable tech competition, launching a fitness technology shirt paired with a mobile application to coincide with its athletic apparel promotion, steepening the challenge for physical tracking technology brands.  

The apparel brand?s innovation is unique in the wearable industry, and is likely to push tech products further into fashion and apparel. Ralph Lauren is hoping to market its Polo Sport line along with the tech shirt and app, ramping awareness as news of the new technology spreads. 

As wearable innovations become more prevalent in the fitness community, the competition becomes more crowded as not only athletic brands jump in, but as fashion brands now make their way in the game as well. 

The apparel manufacturer is the latest fashion brand to get in on the fitness action, and with the introduction of the wearable tech shirt, is likely to make a splash. While typical wearable products on the market resemble bracelets and watches, the PoloTech Smartshirt is an actual article of clothing. 

Ralph Lauren Polo Sport brand is launching an athletic collection, focusing on sport and workout apparel. The mobile fitness app and the Smartshirt is likely to bring attention to the new sport wear, and encouraging consumers to engage with its products. 

Owners of the Ralph Lauren PoloTech Smartshirt will be able to track a variety of health information from the wearer?s body while working out, which streams directly to the user?s iOS device. The app congregates a series of videos tailored specifically for the user based on the data it collected from the workout. 

The app also encourages the user to work harder during a work out, notifying the consumer of his or her push rate, calculating how much exertion, power and effort is put forth. The workout guide offers three categories of exercises such as cardio, strength and agility. 

The apparel brand first tested the technology during the U.S. Open, of which it is a sponsor, showcasing the products with tennis players. 

Polo Ralph Lauren?s innovative thinking has made it a mobile trailblazer, but the brand now needs to consider other creative ways to engage consumers as it looks toward the next step in mobile technology, Mobile Marketer?s analysis shows (see more). 

As wearables become more integrated with consumer behavior, marketers are shifting their strategies. 

A projected boom in fashion-first wearables would impede short-term mobile marketing, Juniper Research said, turning up attention on the Apple Watch and its impact on tried-and-true marketing methods (see more). 

"People work out with the Iphones, it is a natural git," Ms. Sandler said. "Millenials utilize Apps as primary way of interacting with brands.

"This positions Polo as a leader in the blend of fashion and technology," she said. "Also, as a lead in a new kind of Smart Activewear and perhaps to start hitting general sporting good retailers."