• India smartwatch market records highest-ever shipments during the quarter
• The market grew 293% year on year due to promotions across various platforms along with new launches.
• Devices under Rs2,000 is expected to witness higher growth in the coming months.

Domestic smartwatch brands in India such as Noise, boat and Fire-Boltt have grown rapidly and have captured around 75 per cent of the market in the third quarter of this year compared to 38 per cent a year ago.

According to research firm Counterpoint, the Indian market grew 159 per cent quarter on quarter, its highest ever shipments while compared to year on year, the market grew 293 per cent.

The growth can be attributed to promotions across various platforms along with new launches, which contributed to around 28 per cent of the total market in terms of shipments.

“The third quarter is crucial for the players as this is the time when they witness the highest growth. To meet the anticipated surge in demand during the festive sale, the brands push increased shipments into the channel,” Anshika Jain, Senior Research Analyst at Counterpoint, said.

Moreover, she said that the brands came up with multiple launches and big discount schemes throughout the quarter.

The market remained competitive in the quarter with Noise and Boat together capturing almost 50 per cent of it.

Fire-Boltt, Apple and realme emerged as the fastest growing brands during the quarter.

“The strategy of celebrity endorsements, introductory pricing schemes, discount offers, affordable and feature-rich devices and increasing the frequency of new launches has worked well for the Indian brands,” Jain said.

ASPs halve from a year ago

Harshit Rastogi, Research Associate at Counterpoint, said that there was a steep decline in the average selling price of a smartwatch and has almost halved from the level a year back. 

“More than 90 per cent of the market now falls under Rs10,000 with Rs2,500-3,000 being the most competitive segment and contributing to around 40 per cent of the overall market,” he said. 

With new launches coming at even lower prices, he said the market under Rs2,000 is expected to witness higher growth in the coming months.

Key highlights:

• Noise grew 231 per cent year on year and 141 per cent quarter on quarter in the third quarter, capturing 25 per cent of the market while its newly launched devices had a 43 per cent share in its total shipments during the quarter.
• boAt grew 132 per cent quarter on quarter with 24 per cent market share and its boAt Storm remained the best-selling model in the market and alone had a 17 per cent share in the overall smartwatch market.
• Fire-Boltt had a tremendous quarter with 394 per cent quarter on quarter growth.
• realme made a comeback with the refreshed Watch 2 line-up and registered 267 per cent quarter on quarter growth, taking the fourth spot in the market with a 7 per cent share. The Watch 2 series contributed to more than 70 per cent of realme’s shipments in the quarter.
• Amazfit grew 54 per cent quarter on quarter and more than four times in a year on year terms. It topped the market in the INR 5,000-INR 10,000 price segment. Amazfit hosted its Brand Day Sales in September and introduced the premium Zepp Z model in the Indian market. The GTS 2 Mini was its most popular model during the quarter.
• Samsung grew 153 per cent quarter on quarter and 40 per cent Year on year in Q3 2021. It introduced the Galaxy Watch 4 series with Wear OS during the quarter. The Galaxy Watch Active 2 remains popular and contributed to more than half of Samsung’s shipments during the quarter.
• Apple had a great quarter with 289 per cent quarter on quarter growth. Its major contribution came from the SE series launched last year. Even the Series 3 contribution remained high. It led the market in the INR 20,000 and above price band.
• OnePlus remained stable and continued to lead in the Rs10,000-Rs15,000 price band with its OnePlus Watch.
• Dizo entered the smartwatch market during the quarter with three models. The brand had a good start and is close to making a mark in the Top 10 list.