India Wearables Market, Led By Homegrown Brands, Ships Record 37.2 Million Units In Q3: IDC India

The India wearable market registered a record growth of 56.4 per cent year-over-year (YoY) and shipped 37.2 million units in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022.

The India wearable market registered a record growth of 56.4 per cent year-over-year (YoY) and shipped 37.2 million units in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022, a new report said on Friday. According to International Data Corporation (IDC) India's Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, the wearable market was dominated by Boat, followed by Noise and Fire-Boltt.

Smartwatch (inclusive of basic and advanced) remained the fastest-growing category crossing the 12.0 million shipments mark in a single quarter, which is a growth of 178.8 per cent YoY. The smartwatch ASP declined by 30.3 per cent YoY to reach $41.9, which was $60.0 a year back. Basic smartwatches continued to dominate with a 95.5 per cent share growing by 187.1 per cent annually in Q3.

Wristbands, meanwhile, saw yet another quarter of annual decline with an 80.8 per cent YoY shipment drop.

The first nine months of the year (January-September) witnessed 75 million unit shipments. Vendors continued to remain aggressive in their shipments to build inventory for the festive season (August-October) backed by high-decibel marketing and promotional activities across channels. 

“As smartwatches continue to be in high demand across varied customer segments, the need for better specifications/accurate monitoring will be key. We will see bigger screen size (1.8/1.99 inch), AMOLED display, physical or e-Sim connectivity in the affordable segment, while the premium segment moves towards more offerings with curved/edge-to-edge screens & NFC enabled for payment,” Vikas Sharma, Senior Market Analyst, Client Devices, IDC India, said in a statement.

The top 5 wearables included domestic brands Boat, Noise and Fire-Boltt and two Chinese brands, namely OnePlus and Realme. Boat lead with a 32.1 per cent market share in Q3 growing 19.5 per cent YoY. Noise grabbed the second spot with a 13.8 per cent market share and Fire–Boltt climbed to the third place with a 395.0 per cent YoY growth and 8.9 per cent market share.

OnePlus dropped to fourth place in the overall wearable category growing by 107.6 per cent YoY and a market share of 8.2 per cent. Realme was in fifth place and the only wearable brand amongst the top 5 with declining shipments at -18.5 per cent YoY in Q3.