Homegrown Smartwatch brands Saw Record 274% Growth in 2021

India’s smartwatch market is in a boom phase as more and more people are trying out smartwatches because of the affordability factor and smart features provided by the brands. Domestic brands are playing a pivotal role in making them accessible by introducing relevant functionality and fitness tracking functions at lower price points. The motivation of staying fit and leading a healthy lifestyle is now forcing users to upgrade to more sophisticated wearable devices with greater expectations around improved health tracking.

Besides being a fitness companion, smartwatches also compliment users’ style and assist their daily tasks. According to the IDC report, the watches segment registered a growth of 119.9 percent Year-On-Year in the quarter under review with 7,78,000 units shipped in the country, making it the biggest quarter since the launch of the category in India. The surge in wearables’ shipments is heavily influenced by the demands from a tech-savvy and connected population and the rise in the market for wearables is heavily influenced by the demands from a tech-savvy and connected population.

As per the estimates by Counterpoint research, Smartwatch shipments grew 274% in 2021 compared with the previous year, Noise led the market in 2021 followed by boAt, Fire Boltt, realme and Amazfit. boAt’s Storm was the best-selling smartwatch of the year. The report says, Smartwatch market gets a lift from sub-$100 wearables and the Counterpoint estimated that around 80 brands are present in India’s smartwatch market and over 10 brands entered the market in 2021.

78% of the shipment came from online channels, where Flipkart and Amazon contribute 48% and 43% shares respectively. More than 86% of the total shipments were driven by the under-Rs 5,000 price band, compared to 59% in the previous year. Surprisingly, talking about make in India, “Although only 1% of the total smartwatches shipped were domestically assembled, this number is likely to jump many times due to duty structure changes and government push.” Noise led the market in 2021 with a 27% share and over 278% YoY growth.

boAt captured the second spot in 2021 with a 26% share. Fire Boltt was one of the key new entrants in the smartwatch market. It quickly managed to capture the third position with more than 20 models across price bands. Realme grew 23% YoY in 2021 to take the fourth position driven by a well-balanced portfolio and strong online partnerships.

registered 65% YoY growth and captured the fifth position in the smartwatch market. It led the market in the Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 price band with over one-third of the total shipments. Samsung grew more than 2x in 2021 driven by its most popular model, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 and Apple remained flat in 2021 with the Watch SE contributing around 44% of its total volume. India’s smartwatch market is mostly online driven.

S Mohini Ratna, Editor, VARINDIA