India’s smartwatch shipments log 450% growth in Q3: IDC

India’s smartwatch shipments recorded a steep growth in the third quarter of 2021, as the festive season boosted electronics shoppings across the country.  

Data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) stated that 4.3 million smartwatches were shipped in Q3 2021, marking a 450 per cent growth year-on-year (YoY).  

Smartwatches also saw a 270 per cent growth over Q2 2021, when 1.6 million units were shipped, the data revealed. 

True wireless earphones, categorised under ‘earwear’ wearable devices, saw its shipments more than double over the previous quarter to reach 18.7 million. This also marks a 77.9 per cent growth YoY.  

While smart wristbands registered a 23.6 per cent decline YoY. The festive season still boosted this segment to nearly double its shipments to reach 7.4 lakh units in Q3 2021. 

Anisha Dumbre, market analyst at IDC India, stated that the lowering of price points meant that the surge in shipments is not solely attributable to the festive period. She said, “While seasonality made this quarter the biggest for wearable devices, the influx of devices at the entry level was the key growth factor.” 

IDC data further claimed that in the smartwatch space, Indian companies are leading the market. Noise saw its shipments grow four times to hold 26 per cent of the market, followed by Boat with 23.1 per cent and Fire-Boltt with 15.3 per cent.

The other two companies in the top five list are Realme, with 7.3 per cent of the market, and Amazfit with 4.8 per cent. While the latter’s unit shipments grew 140 per cent, its market share fell to 4.8 per cent. 

 Anshika Jain, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, stated that this quarter has been the largest ever for Indian companies in the smartwatch space. “Indian brands captured around 75 per cent of the smartwatch market in Q3 2021, compared to 38 per cent in Q3 2020,” she said. 

In the true wireless earbuds space, Boat saw 177 per cent shipment growth to hold 48 per cent of the market. Realme, OnePlus and Samsung hold the next three spots by market share, with 8.5, 7.2 and 5.3 per cent of the market each. Of these companies, only Samsung saw a 33.6 per cent decline in shipment of units.