India’s Wearable Device Market Declined YoY for the First Time, Falling by 11.3% in 2024: IDC
According to International Data Corporation’s (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, India's wearable device full-year shipments
declined year-over-year (YoY) for the first time ever, falling 11.3% to 119.0
million units. The market also shrunk for the third consecutive quarter, down
8.7% to 25.9 million units in 4Q24. The average selling price (ASP) for overall
wearables declined by 7.1% to $19.8 in 2024, after five years of double-digit
decline.
Key Highlights of 2024:
Smartwatch shipments declined by
34.4% YoY to 35.0 million units. The Smartwatch share within
wearables dropped to 29.4% from 39.8% in 2023. The lack of meaningful
innovations and technological advancements led to muted consumer demand.
Smartwatch ASPs declined by 9.1% from $25.8 to $23.5. Advanced smartwatches
also declined by 13.1% YoY, though the share increased from 2.1% to 2.8%.
The earwear
category registered a modest 3.8% YoY growth to 83.5 million units. Within earwear, the share of the Truly Wireless
Stereo (TWS) segment reached a record 70.9% from 67.2% a year ago, growing by
9.4% YoY, whereas neckband shipments declined by 17.1%. However, shipments for
the over-the-ear segment increased by 83.6% to 4.5 million units. Annual ASPs
for earwear stood at US$17.6, declining by 3.0%.
In the overall wearable category,
boat (Imagine Marketing) continued to lead as share increased from 26.0%
to 27.6%, followed by Noise (Nexxbase) with a 12.2% share in 2024. Boult was
the only company among the Top Five to register a growth of 10.8%. In the TWS
category, the Top Three companies, namely boat, Boult and Nexxbase, registered
double-digit growth annually.
Shipments to the offline channel grew
by 7.2% with its share reaching 37.8% from 31.3% a year ago. Online channel
shipments declined by 19.7% YoY after a few years of double-digit growth. The
growth was hindered primarily by the smartwatch category, with online shipments
of smartwatches declining by 43.0%. Earwear too dropped by 5.1% YoY.
“India’s wearable market peaked in 2023 (biggest
globally), with 134.2 million shipments. It was a global driver for low-cost
smartwatches led by a plethora of affordable options, low product penetration,
and the high share of non-branded (white label) products. However, it was
plagued by undifferentiated products, fewer launches and consolidation of long
tail of brands in 2024,” said Anand Priya Singh, market analyst, Smart
Wearable Devices, IDC India.
The smart ring category continues to grow, with 323
thousand shipments in 2024, up from 113 thousand in 2023. ASPs for rings grew
by 1.9% to $174.7. Ultrahuman led with a 40.1% share, Pi Ring was second with a
20.4% share, and Aabo landed in third position with a 16.8% share in 2024.
2025 India Wearables Market Forecast
”In 2025, the India wearables market is expected to
remain flat as the decline of the smartwatch category will offset the earwear
segment’s single-digit growth,” says Vikas Sharma, senior market analyst, Smart
Wearable Devices, IDC India. “Also, emerging categories like smart rings and
smart glasses are expected to see high double-digit growth. In the upcoming
quarters, innovations will likely revolve around the convergence of advanced
sensing technologies and artificial intelligence applications plus more
sophisticated health monitoring features like blood pressure monitoring.”
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