Indian wearable device shipments fall 11.3% to 119 mn units for CY24: IDC

India's wearable device shipments for the calendar year 2024 fell 11.3 per cent to 119 million units. This is the first time ever that the wearable device market has declined on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis.

 

The market also shrank for the third consecutive quarter, down 8.7 per cent to 25.9 million units in 4Q24. The average selling price (ASP) for overall wearables declined 7.1 per cent to $19.8 in 2024, after five years of double-digit decline, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker.

 

Going into 2025, the Indian wearables market is expected to remain flat as the decline in the smartwatch category offsets the earwear segment’s single-digit growth, according to IDC.

   

Vikas Sharma, senior market analyst, smart wearable devices, IDC India, said, "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."

 

The lack of meaningful innovations and technological advancements led to muted consumer demand for smartwatches, despite falling prices. Smartwatch shipments declined 34.4 per cent Y-o-Y to 35 million units. The smartwatch share within wearables dropped to 29.4 per cent from 39.8 per cent in 2023. Smartwatch ASPs declined 9.1 per cent, from $25.8 to $23.5. Advanced smartwatches also declined 13.1 per cent Y-o-Y, though their share increased from 2.1 per cent to 2.8 per cent.

 

The earwear category registered a modest 3.8 per cent Y-o-Y growth to 83.5 million units. Within earwear, the share of the truly wireless stereo (TWS) segment reached a record 70.9 per cent, up from 67.2 per cent a year ago, growing 9.4 per cent Y-o-Y, whereas neckband shipments declined 17.1 per cent. However, shipments in the over-the-ear segment increased 83.6 per cent to 4.5 million units. Annual ASPs for earwear stood at $17.6, declining 3.0 per cent.

 

In the overall wearable category, boAt (Imagine Marketing) continued to lead as its share increased from 26.0 per cent to 27.6 per cent, followed by Noise (Nexxbase) with a 12.2 per cent share in 2024. Boult was the only company among the top five to register a growth of 10.8 per cent. In the TWS category, the top three companies—boAt, Boult, and Nexxbase—registered double-digit growth annually.

 

Shipments to the offline channel grew 7.2 per cent, with its share reaching 37.8 per cent from 31.3 per cent a year ago. Online channel shipments declined 19.7 per cent Y-o-Y, after a few years of double-digit growth. The decline was primarily driven by the smartwatch category, with online smartwatch shipments falling 43.0 per cent. Earwear shipments also dropped 5.1 per cent Y-o-Y.

 

"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 a high share of non-branded (white label) products. However, it was plagued by undifferentiated products, fewer launches, and the consolidation of a 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 323,000 shipments in 2024, up from 113,000 in 2023. ASPs for rings grew 1.9 per cent to $174.7. Ultrahuman led with a 40.1 per cent share, Pi Ring was second with a 20.4 per cent share, and Aabo secured third position with a 16.8 per cent share in 2024.