India’s wearable market registered another record quarter, shipping 37.2 million units in 3Q22 (July-Sep), a growth of 56.4% YoY (year-over-year) according to the recent data from the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker. The first nine months of the year (Jan-Sep) have seen 75-million-unit shipments. Vendors continued to remain aggressive in their shipments to build inventory for the festive season (August-October) supported by high-decibel marketing and promotional activities across channels. Heavy discounting and offers were also rolled out during online sales events resulting in a 13.6% YoY decline in average selling price (ASP) in 3Q22.

Smartwatch (inclusive of basic and advanced) remained the fastest-growing category crossing the 12.0 million shipments mark in a single quarter, a growth of 178.8% YoY. The smartwatch ASP declined by 30.3% YoY to reach $41.9 (vs $60.0 a year back). Basic smartwatches continue to dominate with a 95.5% share growing by 187.1% annually in 3Q22. Wristbands saw yet another quarter of annual decline with an 80.8% YoY shipment drop.

Earwear accounted for 67.3% of the overall wearables category. Truly wireless (TWS) dominating with 57.6% share growing by 94.4% YoY, tethered grew by 2.5%, while over-the-ear declined by more than 50% in 3Q22.

“As smartwatches continue to be in high demand across varied customer segments, the need for better specifications/accurate monitoring will be key. We will see bigger screen size (1.8/1.99 inch), AMOLED display, physical or e-Sim connectivity in the affordable segment, while the premium segment moves towards more offerings with curved/edge-to-edge screens & NFC enabled for payment,” says Vikas Sharma, Senior Market Analyst, Client Devices, IDC India.

“The rapid proliferation of wearable devices can be attributed to the aggressive marketing and price points by India-base vendors, well supported by e-tailers. As we exit 2022, IDC estimates India to surpass the USA, to become the second-largest wearables market globally behind only PRC. Additionally, with local manufacturing scaling up, vendors are partnering with Indian ODM’s to take full advantage of government incentives, leading to 30%+ “Made in India” units by the end of 2022,” says Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.