India's wearable device market declined in 2024 for the first time, shows IDC data

Smartwatch shipments fell sharply by 34.4 per cent, while earwear shows modest growth of 3.8 per cent.

The smartwatch share within wearables dropped to 29.4 per cent from 39.8 per cent in 2023. The lack of meaningful innovations and technological advancements led to muted consumer demand, IDC said.

Smartwatch's average selling prices declined by 9.1 per cent from USD 25.8 to USD 23.5. Advanced smartwatches also declined by 13.1 per cent, though the share increased from 2.1 per cent to 2.8 per cent.

IDC, a global market intelligence and advisory services provider, in its India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker said the market also shrunk for the third consecutive quarter, down 8.7 per cent to 25.9 million units in October-December quarter of 2024.

The average selling price (ASP) for overall wearables declined by 7.1 per cent to USD 19.8 in 2024, after five years of double-digit decline.

The earwear category registered a modest 3.8 per cent year-on-year growth to 83.5 million units.

Within earwear, the share of the Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) segment reached a record 70.9 per cent from 67.2 per cent a year ago, growing by 9.4 per cent, whereas neckband shipments declined by 17.1 per cent.

However, shipments for the over-the-ear segment increased by 83.6 per cent to 4.5 million units. Annual average prices for earwear stood at USD 17.6, declining by 3.0 per cent.

Shipments to the offline channel grew by 7.2 per cent with its share reaching 37.8 per cent from 31.3 per cent a year ago.

Online channel shipments declined by 19.7 per cent year-on-year 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 per cent. Earwear too dropped by 5.1 per cent.

"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.

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, said 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," Sharma added.

With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. (ANI)