India’s Market for Wearables Increased by 29.2%, with BOAT holding significant market shares.

November 15, 2023 – International Data Corporation (IDC) reports that the wearables industry in India saw record shipments of 48.1 million units in 3Q23 (July-Sep), indicating a robust 29.2% YoY growth.

As a result, the market has shipped 100.9 million units in 2022, compared to 105.9 million units in the first three quarters of 2023. This momentum is primarily due to the brands’ constant introduction of new models across all price points and product categories.

In 3Q23, smart rings gained popularity in addition to the new smartwatch and earwear devices. The average selling price (ASPs) decreased from US$27.2 to US$21.7, a 20.4% decrease.

With 16.9 million units sold, smartwatches continued to be the category with the fastest rate of growth, rising 41.0% YoY as established vendors shipped heavily to meet demand ahead of the upcoming holiday season. Strong channel-wide discounts and offers caused the ASPs of smartwatches to drop 35.3% YoY to US$26.7 in 3Q23.

Nonetheless, the ASPs increased QoQ (quarter-over-quarter) by 4.3%, from US$25.6 in the previous quarter, as a result of the introduction of premium options in the basic smartwatch segment and the rise in the share of advanced smartwatches from 1.5% to 2.4%.

Even though earwear’s share of wearables decreased from 67.3% to 64.4% last year, shipments of the product increased by 23.6% to 30.9 million pieces. True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earwear accounted for 68.4% of the market with a robust 46.7% year-over-year growth, while neckbands saw a 6.9% YoY decline. With YoY declines of 17.1% and 4.6%, respectively, the ASPs for TWS and neckbands stood at US$19.5 and US$14.2.

“Brands have raised the bar by offering premium features at budget-friendly prices. High-volume marketing initiatives and promotions in conjunction with this will propel shipments in the fourth quarter of 2023, generating double-digit annual growth.

According to Vikas Sharma, Senior Market Analyst, Wearable Devices, IDC India, “We will see an enhanced focus on localization of UI/UX, in-house app integration, SIM-based or standalone calling, and Wi-Fi connectivity on basic smartwatches in 2024.”

With a YoY growth of 58.3%, offline channels hit a record 31.5% share, the highest since 1Q21. Online channels saw YoY growth of 19.1% as a result of several impending sales events and holiday stockings. This emphasizes how crucial it is for brands to have an omnichannel presence, particularly when they enter Tier 3/4 cities.

• India wearable device shipment by product category in 3Q2023.
  • Wrist Brand: 108.8
  • Smartwatch: 16929.1
  • Earwear: 30,948.6
  • Total: 48,051.5

The Top 5 Wearable Companies to Watch

Boat (Imagine Marketing):

keeps leading the wearable market overall, holding a 29.7% share that is expanding by 19.4%. It continued to lead TWS as well, with a 37.9% share and a 33.3% YoY growth. With 14.2% of the market, it ranked third among smartwatches.

Of its TWS shipments, Airdopes 131, 161, 141, and Alpha accounted for 42.6%. 14.9% of its smartwatch shipments came from Storm Call and Storm Call 2. In addition to developing new audio-related features in collaboration with Qualcomm, Dolby, and Dirac, it is also growing its network of manufacturing partners in India.

Noise (Nexxbase):

came in second place for wearables overall with a 10.8% market share and a flat YoY growth in shipments. With a 20.7% market share, it fell to second place in the smartwatch category and held onto its fourth place in the TWS segment with a 7.7% share, increasing by 20.4% year over year.

35.8% of its smartwatch shipments came from the Noise Colorfit Pulse 2 Max, Icon 2 Elite, Icon 2, and Crew. In 3Q23, Noise declared its entry into the smart ring market.

Fire – Boltt:

ranked third in the entire wearable category with an 8.7% share and a YoY growth of 25.7%. It gained back the top spot in the smartwatch market with a 23.6% market share, up 27.0% year over year. Its position was solidified by a robust omnichannel presence and a product portfolio that was balanced across price points.

The company’s smartwatches in 3Q23 were dominated by the Phoenix and Ninja Call series. In addition, a number of premium brand kiosks were established to provide a direct consumer experience through the offline channel.

OPPO (OPPO + OnePlus):

ranked fourth with an 8.5% share and a 12.1% YoY growth. With a 30.4% YoY growth, the company ranked third in TWS with an 8.0% share and second in neckbands with a 26.3% share. Of TWS shipments, the Buds 2R, Enco Buds 2, and Nord Buds 2 accounted for 74.7%.

Alongside the Nord Buds 2r, an ANC version of the well-received OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2 was introduced, with a focus on affordability. The Oppo Enco Air 3 with ANC was also released.

Boult Audio:

finished fifth in 3Q23 with a 5.8% share and 267.6% YoY growth. At 8.6% share and 387.7% YoY growth, it held the second position in the TWS category. Of its shipments in the TWS category, Airbass Z40 and Y1 accounted for 51.4%.

Nevertheless, the company dropped to sixth place in the smartwatch market with models such as the Drift, Crown, and Drift Plus accounting for 55.8% of shipments. Oct./Nov. shipments should be greatly increased by the release of new metal smartwatches. Moreover, in 3Q23, the business ventured into offline media.

Others:

Titan and BeatXP, with respective shares of 5.1% and 3.4%, came in fourth and fifth in the smartwatch category. In TWS, Mivi (Seminole) jumped to sixth place with a 3.5% share, while Samsung (JBL+Infinity+Samsung) came in fifth with a 3.5% share and 45.1% YoY growth.

• Top 5 wearable companies in India by market share in 3Q 2023
• Boat (Imagine Marketing): 29.7%
• Noise (Nexxbase): 10.8%
• Fire – Boltt: 8.7%
• OPPO (OPPO + OnePlus): 8.5%
• Boult Audio: 5.8%
• Others: 36.5%

• Top 5 Smartwatch companies in India by market share in 3Q 2023
• Fire – Boltt: 23.6%
• Noise (Nexxbase): 20.7%
• Boat (Imagine Marketing): 15.2%
• Titan: 5.1%
• BeatXP: 3.4%
• Others: 33%

• Top 5 TWS companies in India by market share in 3Q 2023
• Boat (Imagine Marketing): 37.9%
• Boult Audio: 8.6%
• OPPO (OPPO + OnePlus): 8%
• Noise (Nexxbase): 7.7%
• Samsung(JBL+Infinity+Samsung): 3.5%
• Others: 34.4%
• Others

Sources: IDC