Noise, BoAt-Led India Wearables Market Grew 20% In Q1: IDC

The India wearables market shipped 13.9 million units in the first quarter of 2022, led by homegrown brands to register a growth of 20.1% YoY, IDC said.

BoAt dominated Q1 with a 22.9% market share growing 5.2% YoY. Image: BoAt

New Delhi: The India wearables market shipped 13.9 million units in the first quarter of 2022, led by homegrown brands to register a growth of 20.1% YoY (year-over-year) a new report by International Data Corporation’s (IDC) said on Monday. According to IDC's India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, the growth was attributed to new launches, discounts across channels, and aggressive marketing by brands. However, the ASP of the overall category declined 17.1% YoY primarily due to a stronger decline in the ASP of watches.

BoAt dominated Q1 with a 22.9% market share growing 5.2% YoY, courtesy of its broad portfolio of earwear devices and aggressive push in the wearable watch category as value-for-money devices helped the company’s growth in the quarter. BoAt was followed by Noise that finished the quarter in second place with a 10.9% market share.

The domestic company’s constant focus on design, features, price point, quality, and expansion in channels helped the brand grow by 150.1% YoY in Q1. Multiple product launches at competitive price points brought down the ASP of the brand’s portfolio of watches by 31.3% to reach $31.5 and earwear devices to $16.6, thus, declining 37.2% from the same quarter last year.

OnePlus grabbed the third spot but became the only player in the top five to register a decline of 35.8% YoY. With 94.5% of its portfolio present in the earwear category and its strong distribution across online and offline channels helped the brand to preserve a place in the wearable market.

“The outlook for 2022 remains strong as wearables will try to attract users in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. The healthy growth is attracting newer players to the market, as brands in the other devices and accessory space are entering,” Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, IDC India, said in a statement.

"With the continuing push from the brands, Q2 (Apr-Jun) is expected to see healthy YoY growth. The aggressive offers, sales, and marketing around the festive season in 2H22 (Jul-Dec) are expected to continue this growth momentum through the year for the wearable device categories," Joshi added.

Watches fastest-growing category in wearables

Watches continued to be the fastest-growing category shipping 3.7 million units with a growth of 173.0% YoY in the March quarter. Basic watches accounted for 95.1% of the overall watch category shipments, courtesy of aggressive competition at entry-level price points that helped the basic watches grow 202.1% YoY. However, smartwatch shipments declined 4.2% annually.

Furthermore, the ASP of the watches declined 41.5% YoY to reach $50.3 in this quarter compared to $86.0 in the same quarter last year. On the other hand, wrist bands continued to decline annually for the ninth consecutive quarter. Overall wristwear (which includes watches and wrist bands) grew 87.5% yearly in Q1, with a total shipment of 4 million units.

Meanwhile, the earwear category accounted for 71.3% of the overall wearables category while the truly wireless stereo (TWS) share grew to 48.3% from 34.2% in Q1, with a growth of 48.2% YoY.

“Aggressive discounts, new features, and a strong push from brands and channel partners are encouraging consumers to upgrade and spend more on wearable watches,” says Anisha Dumbre, Senior Market Analyst, Client Devices, IDC India.