India's Wearable Market Slumps 9.4% in Q2, Marking Fifth Consecutive Quarterly Decline

India's wearable device market continues to face headwinds, with the latest data revealing a 9.4% year-over-year decline in the April-June period. This marks the fifth consecutive quarterly drop, highlighting ongoing challenges in the sector.

Market Overview

The wearable market in India shipped 26.70 million units during the second quarter, down from the same period last year. This decline was primarily driven by reduced supplies of smartwatches and true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds, two key segments in the wearable ecosystem.

Market Leaders

Despite the overall market contraction, Boat maintained its leadership position with a 28.00% market share. However, the company wasn't immune to the downturn, experiencing a 4.80% decline in sales. Noise secured the second position with a 13.10% market share.

Segment Performance

Smartwatches

The smartwatch category was hit particularly hard:

• Shipments fell 28.40% to 6.60 million units
• Experienced sixth consecutive quarterly decline
• Market share dropped to 24.90% from 31.50% year-over-year
• Factors contributing to the decline include demand fatigue and saturation in the entry-level segment

Earwear

The earwear category showed more resilience:

• Marginal decline of 1.20% to 19.90 million units

Emerging Categories

Interestingly, some niche segments showed promising growth:

• Smart rings: Grew 2.80% to 75,000 units
• Smart glasses: Surged to 50,000 units from 4,000 in the previous period
• Smart wristbands: Jumped 118.50% to 83,000 units

Pricing Trends

Despite the overall market decline, there was a slight increase in average selling prices:

• Average selling price rose by 2.20% to $19.20 (approximately ₹1,590)

Market Outlook

The continued decline in India's wearable market suggests a period of consolidation and potential market saturation, especially in popular categories like smartwatches and TWS earbuds. However, the growth in emerging categories like smart rings, glasses, and wristbands indicates evolving consumer preferences and potential new avenues for market expansion.

As the market matures, companies may need to focus on innovation, improved features, and targeting niche segments to reignite growth in the Indian wearable device sector. The slight increase in average selling prices could also indicate a shift towards higher-value products, potentially offsetting some of the volume declines.