NEW DELHI: India's smartwatch shipments declined for the first time since 2018, falling 7.3% year-over-year to 9.6 million units in the first quarter of this calendar year, according to IDC’s India Monthly Wearable Data. Excess inventory in the online channel and fewer new launches are believed to be the reasons behind this decline. The average selling price of smartwatches also dropped to $20.65 from $29.24 a year ago, driven by e-tailer sales events and discounts. However, there was a bright spot: the share of advanced smartwatches increased from 2.0% to 3.2%.
Overall, India’s wearable device market grew by 2.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 25.6 million units, albeit after experiencing consecutive double-digit growth since the fourth quarter of 2017. This restrained growth is attributed to the high inventory carried over from the festive quarters in the second half of 2023. The average selling price for overall wearables also declined by 17.8% in Q1, 2024, dropping from $22.62 to $18.59.
“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,” said Vikas Sharma, senior market analyst — smart wearable devices at IDC India.
The top five vendors — 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 two-fold and three-fold, respectively. In the earwear category, all vendors from the top five grew their shipments, except Boult.
Offline channel share increased to 37.9% from 26.1% in the first quarter of 2023. Online channel shipments declined by 14.1% y-o-y in the first quarter of 2024, its second consecutive quarter of decline. The earwear category grew 8.3% year-on-year, shipping 15.9 million units. Within earwear, the share of the Truly Wireless Stereo segment reached 70.1% from 63.8% a year ago, growing by 19% y-o-y. Other shipments of earwear (including tethered and over-ear) declined by 10.6%. The average selling price of earwear declined by 7.3% to $16.62.