The International Data Corporation (IDC), a well-known research firm, has produced a report detailing wearable shipments in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022 as well as the first half (H1) of 2022.
According to the research, 23.9 million wearable gadgets were shipped in Q2, an increase of 113% year-on-year (YoY). Furthermore, 38 million units of wearable gadgets were supplied in the first half of 2022, representing a 65.8% increase YoY.
It should be noted that wearables include earwear, watches, and wristbands. In 2Q22, Imagine Marketing (BoAt) led the market with a 34.3% market share, gaining 76.6% year-on-year. The Nexxbase (Noise) finished in second with a market share of 11.5%, trailing only the boAt. With 8.7%, 6.8%, and 4.6% market shares, respectively, OnePlus, Fire-Bolt, and realme rounded out the top five.
Smartwatch Market in Q2 2022
Watch-based wearables remain the fastest-growing category, with 6.4 million units shipped, representing a 298.4% year-on-year increase. However, wristband sales plummeted 63.0% year-over-year due to lower demand.
Nexxbase (Noise) led Q2 with a 28.5% market share and a 296.6% YoY increase. Fire-Boltt had 24.8% of the watch-based wearables market with growth of 1700% YoY. Strong online and offline campaigns and a number of new models are helping it gain wearable popularity.
Imagine Marketing (boAT), Samsung, and Titan round out the top 5 with 19.7%, 3.0%, and 2.6% of the market share, respectively. With a strong push for low entry-level prices, the average selling price (ASP) of smartwatches fell by 28.9% from the previous year to $45.1 (Rs. 3,573 approx.).
Regarding the lead in the market, Amit Khatri, Co-Founder at Noise said,
It is a proud moment for us, yet again, as we continue to assert leadership in the watch-based wearables category with a 28.5% share, to become the No. 1 smartwatch player in the space. It is a testament to the consumers’ trust in the brand and we are elated to have stood true to understanding the pulse of the nation.
The announcement comes at the perfect time, right when we bolstered our commitment to ramp up smartwatch manufacturing in India, under the Make in India initiative. We will continue to strengthen our leadership in the segment and keep contributing to the growing ecosystem.
TWS Market in Q2 2022:
The wearables category as a whole was made up of 72.6% of wearables. Truly wireless (TWS), which has increased by 187.4% YoY, now makes up half of the ear wear shipment market.
The TWS market as a whole was dominated by Imagine Marketing (boAt) in Q2, with a 210.2% YoY increase and a 42.8% share. The second-place finisher, Nexxbase (Noise), increased by 191.8% YoY and gained 8% of the market.
Boult Audio finished third with a 6.1% market share, while Seminole (Mivi) grew 651.1% year-on-year and finished fourth with a 5.4% market share. OnePlus came in fifth place in the TWS category, with a 4.5% market share.
Regarding the overall wearables market, Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President, Devices Research, IDC India, South Asia & ANZ said,
Demand for wearables has moved beyond urban centers by appealing to the aspirational consumers in smaller cities and towns. This has been driven by marketing and pricing efforts by key brands and supported by aggressive e-tailer sales events since the overall category remains online heavy. IDC forecasts record shipments of more than 90 million in 2022
The wearable device market is bucking the trend of tapering demand seen in the overall devices space. As consumers look for exciting designs and a better feature set in a device complementing their smartphone, they are willing to experiment and spend on these devices.