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Apple Inc. stepped into wearable fitness device maker Fitbit Inc.'s wheelhouse when it introduced the Apple Watch a year ago. Now Fitbit is returning the favor, making a bet on mobile-payments technology that could look a lot like Apple Pay.

Fitbit said Wednesday that it purchased the wearable-payments assets of Coin, a consumer electronics company, with plans to develop a payment solution that could be embedded into future Fitbit devices. Terms of the deal weren't provided.

Since Apple launched its smartwatch, Fitbit has rolled out new products, notably the Blaze and Alta models, that are more advanced than its early fitness trackers. At $200, the Blaze is priced below the $299 entry price for the Apple Watch.

Fitbit's Blaze device has several features in common with the Apple Watch: Users can see text notifications and calendar alerts, and the device can be used to control music.

But Fitbit's Blaze lacks a digital wallet service. With Apple Watch, and other Apple products such as the iPhone, shoppers using Apple Pay wave the device in front of a wireless reader to complete their purchases.

Fitbit said the Coin transaction was completed May 12. It said it wouldn't integrate the technology into this year's devices, but wireless payment could be on its products in the future.

Fitbit, one of the IPO darlings of last year, has seen its stock tumble on concerns over the company's long-term business outlook amid growing competition. New products account for the bulk of sales, which puts pressure on Fitbit to spend to keep up with technical advances and shifting consumer tastes. Revenue more than doubled in 2015 compared with 2014, but the company has spent heavily to drive sales growth and future product launches.

Fitbit is looking to keep its position as the market leader in wearable devices. It was the No. 1 seller of wearables in the first quarter of 2016, with about 25% of market share, according to data from International Data Corp. Apple held the third-largest chunk of the market, behind Chinese electronics company Xiaomi Corp. Fitbit shipped 4.8 million units in the quarter compared with Apple's 1.5 million. Xiaomi shipped 3.7 million.

Separately, Fitbit also said Wednesday that it would sell its Fitbit Blaze and Fitbit Alta devices in China.

"We are focused on making wearable devices that motivate people to reach their health and fitness goals and that also make their lives easier with the smart features they need most," said James Park, Fitbit's chief executive and co-founder. Mr. Park added that Coin's technology "will further our strategy of making Fitbit products an indispensable part of people's lives."

Fitbit said this month that first-quarter sales climbed 50%, showing that less-expensive fitness trackers still have legs as they compete with the Apple Watch. But amid the higher spending, the company's gross margin declined to 46.3% from 50.2%. Mr. Park has said the company hopes to accelerate product development and decrease the amount of time it takes to launch products.

Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 18, 2016 12:45 ET (16:45 GMT)

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