India’s wearable device market experienced its first-ever year-over-year decline in 2024, according to IDC.
The market, which had been a global leader in low-cost smartwatches, saw a significant 11.3 percent drop in shipments to 119.0 million units.
The decline was driven by a sharp 34.4 percent decrease in smartwatch shipments, which fell to 35.0 million units. This downturn was attributed to a lack of meaningful innovations and technological advancements, leading to muted consumer demand. The smartwatch category’s share within the overall wearables market dropped from 39.8 percent in 2023 to 29.4 percent in 2024.
However, the earwear category bucked the trend with a modest 3.8 percent growth to 83.5 million units. Within this category, truly wireless stereo (TWS) devices increased its market share to a record 70.9 percent, up from 67.2 percent the previous year.
boat (Imagine Marketing) strengthened its leadership position by increasing its market share from 26.0 percent to 27.6 percent. Noise (Nexxbase) is next with 12.2 percent. Boult was the only company among the top five to register growth, with a 10.8 percent increase in shipments.
The market also witnessed a shift in consumer purchasing habits, with offline channel shipments growing by 7.2 percent, accounting for 37.8 percent of total sales, up from 31.3 percent in 2023. Conversely, online channel shipments declined by 19.7 percent year-over-year.
“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 of Smart Wearable Devices in IDC India.
”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. 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,” said Vikas Sharma, Senior Market Analyst of Smart Wearable Devices at IDC India.
Photo: Ron Lach
Entelechy Asia 