India’s Wearable Market Posted a Strong First Half of 2023, Growing by 53% YoY

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According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, the first half of 2023 registered a strong 53.3% YoY (year-over-year) growth shipping 57.8 million units in 1H23. Brands launched several smartwatch models in different shapes, designs, materials, finishes and with new features, resulting in 128.6% YoY growth. Smartwatch share reached 40.0%, up from 26.8% a year ago, while the earwear category grew 27.3% in 1H23.

32.8 million wearables shipped in 2Q23, a growth of 37.2% YoY and 30.6% QoQ (quarter-on-quarter). Smartwatch shipments almost doubled to 12.8 million in 2Q23, while the earwear shipments grew by 15.2% YoY. Notably, the average selling price (ASPs) of smartwatches declined by 44.9%, dropping to $25.6 from $46.6 in 2Q23. The overall wearable ASP in 2Q23 dropped to US$21.0 from US$26.7 a year ago.

Within the earwear category, TWS now has a record share of 65.5%, growing by 52.9% YoY, while neckbands declined by -22.5% in 2Q23. The ASP for neckbands and TWS stood at US$15.0 and US$18.7, declining by 6.4% and 15.3% respectively.

“The high-end capabilities that have been exclusive to premium products are now gradually making their way into affordable models. These include features like advanced ANC (active noise cancellation), multiple microphones, minimal delay or low latency, simultaneous dual device connection, and advanced sound chipsets, ” says Vikas Sharma, Senior Market Analyst, Wearable Devices, IDC India.

Online channels like e-tailers remained the main driver with 73.9% share in 2Q23. However, we are now seeing leading brands beginning to explore offline avenues to deepen their reach and expand their presence in Tier 3/4/5 towns.

“The first half of 2023 saw hundreds of smartwatch model launches with premium finishing, sporty appearances, rugged builds, and a variety of strap finishes like metal, silicon, leather, etc. The second half of 2023 will see aggressive festive offers and discounts, while brands remain cautious for supplies. Furthermore, we should expect more launches in the smart ring category at affordable pricing,” says Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.

2Q23 Top 5 Wearable Company Highlights

boAt (Imagine Marketing) continued to lead the wearable space in India with 26.6% share, growing by 6.5% YoY. Earwear accounted for 77.7% of its shipments in 2Q23. The company also continued to lead the TWS segment with 35.3% share. The Storm Call, Wave Flex Connect and Wave Stride contributed to more than a quarter of its smartwatch shipments. It recently launched a Dolby Audio integrated neckband, along with an entry into the Smart Ring segment.

Noise (Nexxbase) stood second in overall wearables, growing by 61.6% YoY with 13.5% market share. Noise regained its first position in smartwatches with 27.6% share, growing by 93.2% YoY. It further moved up to fourth position in the TWS segment at 6.6% share, growing by 26.3% YoY. The Noise Colorfit Icon 2, Colorfit Icon Buzz & Colorfit Pulse Go Buzz contributed to 39.0% of its shipments.

OPPO (OPPO + OnePlus) stood third with 10.7% share and growth of 42.4% YoY in 1Q23. The company also stood at third position in TWS with 8.5% share, growing by 100.9% YoY. Its neckband Bullet Wireless Z2 and TWS Nord Buds 2 accounted for more than 75% of its shipments.

Fire – Boltt stood at fourth place with 9.5% share in 2Q23 in the overall wearable category with 91.0% growth YoY. It dropped to second position in the smartwatch category with 23.8% share, growing by 91.1% YoY. It diversified its portfolio into different categories like metal and rugged series along with their premium series smartwatches.

Boult Audio stood fifth with a 6.6% share and 176.9% YoY growth in 2Q23. It retained second place in the TWS category with 9.6% share and 140.8% YoY growth. It gained fourth position in the smartwatch category, with high growth of 1922.1% and 3.4% share. Its Drift, Drift Plus & Striker contributed 59.4% to its smartwatch shipments. 

Others - pTron (Palred Electronics) and Mivi (Seminole) placed fifth and sixth position in the TWS category with 5.9% & 4.5% share respectively. Pebble (SRK Powertech) moved to sixth position in smartwatches with 2.4% share with 247.5% growth YoY. Ambrane and Beat XP stood at seventh and eighth positions in smartwatches respectively.