The India wearables market recorded a 144.3 per cent year-over-year (YoY) growth in 2020, with shipments of 36.4 million units, according to recent data from the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker.

“India was the only country in the top 20 to see triple-digit growth in wearables in 2020 and continues to be the third-largest wearables market globally,” the report said.

“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 said.

Earwear device shipments increased over threefold in 2020 compared to 2019, “ mainly driven by affordable launches, and expanding use cases beyond entertainment, like virtual meetings and e-learning requirements.” It accounted for 83.6 per cent of the overall wearable market share to hit shipments of 30.4 million units in the year. BoAt emerged as the biggest player in the category, accounting for one-third of the category shipments.

Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) devices topped the charts in hearables, recording a 10-fold increase in shipments, amounting to 11.3 million units. BoAt also led the TWS segment with a 24.6 per cent share, followed by Realme with a 13.5 per cent share in 2020.

“Hearables became one of the most sought-after electronic categories in 2020. The newer version of hearables are much better in managing increased audio usage and improved aesthetics and design also made them a trendsetter,” said Anisha Dumbre, Market Analyst, IDC India.

“TWS category saw the much-needed price corrections with several vendors launching devices at more affordable price points, leading to a drop in the average selling price of TWS to $45 in 2020 from $110 in 2019,” she added.

Wristband shipments, however, declined by 34.3 per cent YoY in 2020, amounting to 3.3-million units.

“After the introduction of wrist bands in the Indian market, 2020 was the first year when the category reported a decline. The increasing popularity of watches at price points similar to that of wristbands is the main factor for the decline of wristbands,” the report said.

Xiaomi tops the list of brands in the category with a 46.7 per cent market share in 2020. It was followed by Realme with a 12.3 per cent category share.

Watches grew significantly as demand for wrist bands declined during the year, as per the report. The watches category witnessed a 139.3 per cent YoY growth with shipments of 2.6-million units in 2020.

Noise led the watch category with a 24.5 per cent share in 2020, followed by Realme with a 15.7 per cent share.

In terms of products, the category was led by smartwatches, which accounted for a 24.5 per cent share in the watch category. Apple continued to lead the smartwatch category with a 51 per cent share in 2020.

Q4 2020 (Oct-Dec 2020) was also the biggest quarter for wearables in India, maintaining triple-digit growth. Overall, vendors shipped 15.2 million units in 4Q20, growing 198.2 per cent YoY.

“This was the first quarter when shipments of watches crossed the one million mark as vendors shipped 1.3 million units during the quarter. Noise’s Colorfit pro-2, Realme watch, Apple’s watch series 6, and new launches from Amazfit provided this strong growth for watches in 4Q20,” as per the report.

“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,” said Jaipal Singh, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.

“The high cost associated with wearable watches is not much of a challenge any more. Also, the watch form factor is now seen as more appealing to consumers, and vendors will leverage this shift by further expanding their watches portfolio in the coming quarters,” added Singh.

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