India’s Smartwatch market 2022: All top 5 brands recorded astonishing growth in shipments [REPORT]

Smartwatches accounted for 30.7% of India's total wearable shipments in 2022. The biggest surprise was the rise of Fire-Boltt which leapfrogged many popular smartwatch brands to emerge as the second most popular smartwatch brand in India.

Must Read

The demand for wearable devices, especially smartwatches, has significantly increased in India in the last few years. Companies are adding advanced features and specs to their smartwatches to lure customers. According to IDC, India’s wearable market clocked a robust 46.9% YoY growth in 2022, as shipments reached 100.1 million units. Smartwatches accounted for 30.7% of India’s total wearable shipments in 2022.

Surprisingly, the demand for wearable devices in India fell during the fourth quarter of 2022, also known as the holiday quarter. The number of wearable devices shipped in India declined a 32.2% QoQ, from 37.2 million in Q3 2022 to 25.2 million in Q4 2022. This was despite the fact that several new products were launched ahead of the festival season, along with deals and discounts offered across all channels. However, the country saw 16.5% YoY growth in wearable devices’ shipments in Q4 2022.

Now let’s take an in-depth look at the performance of wearable companies in India by segment.

India’s wearable market 2022 by segment: Main highlights

  • Smartwatches steal the show. The shipments of smartwatches skyrocketed in India, from just 4.95 million in Q4 2021 to 8.59 million in Q4 2022. That represented a whopping 73.6% YoY growth in shipments.
  • India also recorded an astonishing 151.3% YoY growth in smartwatch shipments, totalling 30.72 million during the entire year.
  • However, the smartwatch shipments declined 28.5% QoQ in Q4 2022.
  • Basic smartwatches continue to dominate with a 95.5% share, growing by 158.0% annually in 2022.
  • Smartwatches will soon replace Wristbands, as seen in the shipment data. The shipments for wristbands plunged 73.2% YoY in 2022 to just 591.9 thousand. That’s a massive fall from 2021 when 2.2 million wristbands were shipped in India.
  • In Q4 2022, India shipped only 53.2 thousand units of wristbands, representing a massive 84.4% YoY and 62.5 QoQ decline.
  • In fact, except for the third quarter, all three quarters of 2022 saw a notable quarterly drop in wristband shipments in the country.
  • The earwear category witnessed 28% YoY and 1.4% YoY growth in shipments during 2022 and Q4 2022, respectively.
  • Overall in India’s top five wearable brands, Imagine Marketing, which runs the brand as boAt, continues to dominate the market with 29.3% as of CY22. This is followed by Nexxbase (Noise), OnePlus, Fire – Boltt, and realme.

Who is dominating the smartwatch market in India?

Covid-19 plays a key role in Indians’ love for smartwatches. People have become more concerned about their fitness and health activities. Therefore, companies are leaving no stone unturned to make the most of it in order to gain a sizable share of India’s smartwatch market.

Noise, Fire-Boltt, and boAt are India’s top three smartwatch brands, together accounting for a 70.8% share of the total smartwatch market as of 2022.

Nexxbase (Noise) dominates India’s smartwatch market with a 27.2% share. Noise smartwatch shipments grew a whopping 296.6% YoY in Q2 2022, 216.5% YoY in Q3 2022, 55.4% YoY in Q4 2022 and 152.6% YoY in the entire 2022.

The two smartwatches by Noise named “Colorfit Icon Buzz” and “Colorfit Caliber” were the highest-selling models in 2022, with a million plus shipments.

What’s more interesting is that Fire – Boltt, a comparatively smaller player than giants like Samsung and Xiaomi, emerged as the ultimate winner in 2022. The brand witnessed an astonishing 439% YoY growth in its smartwatch shipments for the entire year. If we see the quarterly performances, the Fire – Boltt smartwatch shipments in India grew 1,700% YoY in Q2 2022, 377.4% YoY in Q3 2022 and 214.4% YoY in Q4 2022.

Fire Boltt’s share in India’s smartwatch market more than doubled, from just 11.6% in 2021 to 24.8% in 2022.

boAt is the third largest smartwatch brand in India, with an 18.8% share as of 2022. The smartwatch brand recorded 88.7% YoY growth in 2022. In May 2022, boAt launched its first-ever Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch, boAt Primia, priced at Rs 4,499. After this, the company launched three more Bluetooth calling-enabled smartwatches to lure customers at affordable prices.

It is important to note that Aman Gupta-led boAt is India’s No 1 wearable brand, with a 29.3% share.

Samsung emerged as the fourth-largest smartwatch brand in India. Surprisingly, despite posting 154.8% YoY growth in shipments, the Korean giant’s share in India’s smartwatch market remained at just 2.6% in 2022, unchanged from 2021.

However, the year-over-year growth in Samsung smartwatch shipments in India declined for Q4 2022 compared to the previous two quarters. The company witnessed 328.8% YoY growth in Q2 2022, which fell to 220.9% YoY growth in Q3 2022, and to just 63.4% YoY growth in Q4 2022.

Titan is another smartwatch brand fast gaining popularity among the masses in India, with 4018.2% YoY growth in 2022. The company’s market share also increased from just 0.1% in 2021 to 2.4% in 2022.

In a nutshell, Indians are going crazy over smartwatches. The trend is expected to continue in future, at least for the next few years. Smartwatches have replaced not only wristwatches but also health bands, fitness trackers, and some of the essential features of mobile phones, such as messaging and Bluetooth calling. The declining ASP (Average Selling Price) and enhancing the accuracy of data related to fitness and health have played a vital role in the unprecedented popularity of smartwatches in developing countries.

SourceIDC

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisement -

Latest News

Amazon Makes Historic Bet on AI: $4 Billion Fuels Anthropic’s Generative Engine

AI investments have skyrocketed in the last three years, with tech giants placing their bets on the transformative power...
- Advertisement -

In-Depth: Dprime

The Mad Rush: The Rising Wave of Smartwatches Among Indian Consumers

A few months ago, a 36-year-old named Adam Croft, residing in Flitwick, Bedfordshire, had a startling experience. One evening, he woke up feeling slightly...

PARTNER CONFERENCES

spot_img

More Articles Like This