India’s wearable device market sees 2.1% YoY growth

According to International Data Corporation’s (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, India’s wearable device market grew by 2.1% year-over-year (YoY) to 25.6 million units after growing by at least double digits consecutively since 4Q17. The growth was restricted by the high inventory carried over from the festive quarters in 2H23. The average selling price (ASP) for overall wearables declined by 17.8% in 1Q24, from US$22.62 to US$18.59, a record low.

Key Highlights of 1Q24:

• Smartwatch shipments declined for the first time since 4Q18, by 7.3% YoY to 9.6 million units. The share of smartwatches within wearables dropped to 37.6% from 41.4% in 1Q23. Excess inventory in the online channel and fewer new launches led to this decline. Smartwatch ASPs dropped to US$20.65 from US$29.24 a year ago on the back of e-tailer sales events and discounts. The share of advanced smartwatches increased from 2.0% to 3.2%.
• The earwear category grew by 8.3% YoY, shipping 15.9 million units. Within earwear, the share of the Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) segment reached 70.1% from 63.8% a year ago, growing by 19% YoY. Other shipments of earwear (including tethered and Over-ear) declined by 10.6%. ASPs for earwear declined by 7.3% to US$16.62.
• The top five vendors namely BoAt, Noise, Fire-Bolt, Boult, and Oppo, remain unchanged from a year ago. Although their collective share declined from 63.9% to 59.9%, the long tail of smaller vendors gained share. Within the smartwatch category, shipments of the top three vendors declined due to high channel inventory. However, Titan and BeatXP grew by 2X and 3X respectively. In the earwear category, all vendors from the top five grew their shipments, except Boult.

“Vendors have started focusing on retail expansion via partnerships with large format national and/or regional retail chains and bundling wearables with other product categories like smartphones, laptops, etc. It will be interesting to see if these initiatives help bring back the growth momentum, especially in the festive sales period in the second half of the year,” said Anand Priya Singh, Market Analyst, Smart Wearable Devices, IDC India.

Offline channel share increased to 37.9% from 26.1% in 1Q23. Online channel shipments declined by 14.1% YoY in 1Q24, its second consecutive quarter of decline.

The momentum for the smart ring category continues, with 64 thousand smart rings shipping in 1Q24 at an ASP of US$173.06. Ultrahuman continues to lead the smart ring market in India with a 43.9% share, followed closely by Pi Ring at 40.1% and Aabo at third with an 8.4% share.

Commenting on the wearable device market outlook for the year, Vikas Sharma, Senior Market Analyst, Smart Wearable Devices, IDC India says, “The smartwatch market is showing early signs of a slowdown in India. The vendors are facing challenges in luring customers to upgrade due to limited innovation and freshness in newer models. IDC expects a low double-digit annual shipment decline for smartwatches in 2024. At the same time, earwear shipments are expected to grow by mid-single digit, driven by AI capabilities and affordable yet advanced features like active noise cancellation options.”

Note:

• Wearable devices that are in the form of a band or watch and capable of processing the data digitally are considered in the wristwear category and it excludes the traditional analog and digital watches.
• The Smartwatch category includes Advance Smartwatches (e.g., Apple Watch, Wear OS watches), and Basic Smartwatches (e.g., Noise watches, BoAt watches).

IDC