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India wearable business ships 100 mn units in 2022, boAt holds the top spot

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The India wearable market saw a strong 46.9 percent (year-over-year) growth in 2022, as shipments reached 100 million units with boAT taking the pole position, a report showed on Wednesday.

Smartwatch (inclusive of basic and advanced) shipments were 30.7 million last year, a growth of 151.3 percent YoY. The smartwatch average selling price (ASPs) continues to decline, at $42.5 (vs $61.2 a year ago), according to an IDC report.

Basic smartwatches continued to dominate with a 95.5 percent share, growing by 158 percent annually. Wristbands declined for another year with negative 73.2 percent YoY, with shipments dropping to half a million.

The holiday quarter (October-December 2022) saw 25.2 million unit shipments, registering a 16.5 percent YoY growth.

"Vendors faced supply challenges throughout 2022, especially for smartwatches, which are not expected to ease off completely before early 2H23. Local manufacturing is expected to scale up to more than 80 percent by exit 2023, with more players opting for local sourcing of parts/components," said Vikas Sharma, senior market analyst, client devices, IDC India.

The Earwear category, with the lowest ASP globally at $19.8, accounted for 68.7 percent of the overall wearables category with 28 percent YoY shipment growth. Within earwear, Truly Wireless (TWS) dominated with a 55.3 percent share growing by 87.1 percent.

Boat maintained the lead but its share dropped to 23.9 percent in the fourth quarter declining by 34.3 percent YoY.

Imagine Marketing (boAt) is planning to increase its presence in the smartwatch category in 2023, which accounted for 19.7 percent of its overall shipments in 2022.

Nexxbase (Noise) stood second at 11.2 percent in 4Q22, with 2.8 million shipments, and registered 39.6 percent growth. It strengthened its smartwatch leadership with a 27.2 percent share.

OnePlus climbed to third place in the overall wearable category, growing by 83 percent YoY and 10.2 percent share.

Fire-Boltt dropped to fourth place, but with a strong 250 YoY growth, shipping 2.2 million units. Boult Audio's fifth place witnessed a gain with 1.9 million shipments.

"To maintain similar growth in 2023, smartwatch vendors would need to remain focused on the entry-level price segment with essentials like Bluetooth calling, higher display brightness (1000+Nits), etc. fresh designs and new segments, enhanced app integration and collaboration with fashion brands with wider presence across large format stores," said Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.