The wearables market in India posted a 144.3 per cent year-on-year growth in 2020 with 36.4 million unit shipment, as per research firm IDC. India was the only country in the top 20 to see triple-digit growth in wearables in the year 2020 and continues to be the third-largest wearables market globally, IDC said in a statement.
“This growth was majorly driven by the increasing acceptance of earwear devices and upgrades to watches from wrist bands, both recording their highest annual shipments in 2020,” it added.
The October-December 2020 period was the biggest quarter for the wearables category in the country, maintaining triple-digit growth. Overall, vendors shipped 15.2 million units in the said period, growing at 198.2 per cent year-on-year.
“2020 was a year of transition in the audio segment from wired to wireless devices. In 2021, this category will further migrate to more sophisticated devices with enhanced audio experience being the central theme for all vendors,” IDC India Associate Research Manager (Client Devices) Jaipal Singh said.
The high cost associated with wearable watches is not much of a challenge anymore, he added.
Also, the watch form factor is now seen as more appealing to the consumers, and vendors will leverage this shift by further expanding their watch portfolio in the coming quarters, Singh said.
The increasing popularity of watches at a similar price is believed to have impacted wristbands shipment. Wristbands declined by 34.3 per cent year-on-year in 2020 since peaking in 2019 as the year ended with the shipment of 3.3 million units.
In the fourth quarter, wristband shipment fell 39 per cent to 0.8 million units from 1.4 million units in the year-ago period, IDC said.
