India’s Wearables Market Sees First Decline Due To Falling Smartwatch Sales

India’s wearable device market, including smartwatches, wristbands, and smart rings, has experienced its first-ever decline, according to a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC). The decline is primarily due to cautious inventory stocking by vendors and fewer new launches as they clear old stock before the festive season.

Key Findings

• Overall Market Decline:
  The market saw a 10% year-over-year (YoY) decline, with 29.5 million units sold. The first half of 2023-24 witnessed a 4.7% drop, with 55.1 million units shipped.
• Average Selling Price (ASP):
  The ASP for all wearables hit a record low, dropping by 10.3% from $21.0 to $18.8 in the second quarter of 2023-24.
• Sales Channels:
  Online channels are the preferred mode of selling wearables, increasing to 63.4% in the second quarter of 2023-24 from 62% in the first quarter. The offline channel is often used to offload excess inventory.

Smartwatch Segment

• Decline in Sales:
  Smartwatch sales fell by 27.4% YoY to 9.3 million units due to previous model inventory and innovation stagnation. The share of smartwatches within wearables dropped from 39.0% to 31.5%.
• Price Reduction:
  The average selling price for smartwatches decreased from $25.6 to $20.6 due to inventory clearance and discounts.
• Advanced Smartwatches:
  Despite the decline, advanced smartwatches like Apple Watch and Wear OS watches grew by 21.9%, with market share rising from 1.5% to 2.5%.

Earwear and Smart Rings

• Earwear Growth:
  The earwear category remained flat, growing by 0.7% to 20.1 million units. The Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) segment reached a record 71.0% share, growing by 9.1%.
• Smart Ring Growth:
  Over 72,000 smart rings were shipped in the second quarter of 2024, with an average price of $204.6. Ultrahuman led the market with a 48.4% share, followed by Pi Ring and Aabo.

Wristbands

• Growth in Shipments:
  The wristband category continued to grow at a rate of 23.4% in shipments.

Future Outlook

“Several new model launches by incumbent brands are expected during the upcoming festive season, which may help arrest this decline,” said Vikas Sharma, Senior Market Analyst, Smart Wearable Devices, IDC India. “However, the annual shipments for smartwatches are expected to decline by 10% in 2024. We will also possibly see refreshed smartwatch portfolios by smartphone vendors in low to mid-price segments.”