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India’s smartwatch market recorded a 173 per cent year-on-year growth in Q1 2022 (January-March), according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s IoT Service.
As per the report, the growth was driven by growing consumer interest, multiple launches during the quarter and the availability of various discount offers and promotions.
According to Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain, the contribution of the <₹5,000 ($67) retail price band increased to 87 per cent from 78 per cent in Q1 2021. The ₹1,000-₹2,000 ($13-$27) retail price band reached its highest ever share of 14 per cent from just 2 per cent a year ago.
“Many brands have started to focus on this low price tier to attract first-time users and acquire the smart band user base. Consumer awareness has also increased in this segment due to brands’ continuous efforts on marketing and promotions through online and offline channels,” said Jain.
Top brands
Noise led the market with a 23 per cent share, its shipments doubling YoY in Q1 2022 due to the good performance of its newly introduced devices. The Colorfit Pulse was the brand’s best-selling model.
Fire-Boltt took the second position for the first time with a 21 per cent share. It has multiple launches this quarter with the Ninja Pro Max being its most popular device
boAt recorded a 106 per cent YoY growth and captured the third position with a 17.8 per cent share. The Xtend and Storm models captured almost two-thirds of its total portfolio. The brand also launched the Wave Pro 47, its first made-in-India smartwatch during the quarter.
Dizo made it to the top five for the first time with a 4.4 per cent market share in Q1 2022.
The company introduced OLED display with its recently launched model Watch R. It also expanded its offline presence this quarter.
Samsung stood fifth with a 3.8 per cent market share, growing 78 per cent YoY in Q1 2022.
“The Galaxy Watch 4 series had the highest contribution here and higher shipments this quarter owing to promotional offers along with the Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone,” as per the report.
As per Jain, the top three brands captured 60 per cent share in Q1 2022.
“Noise led the overall smartwatch market driven by its value-for-money offerings, the addition of relevant features to its product portfolio and emphasis on the Make-in-India scheme. Fire-Boltt emerged as the second-largest player for the first time due to its focus on affordability and the introduction of feature-packed products. Fire-Boltt has a good offline presence and targets multiple smartwatch segments like fashion, lifestyle, fitness and luxury. boAt captured the third spot. It also refreshed its portfolio in Q1 2022 with five new models,” said Jain.
Realme recorded a 3 per cent share in Q1 2022. The brand introduced its new Smartwatch S100, which was its major volume driver.
“We expect to see a portfolio refresh soon and a rise in shipments in the coming future. It is a well-established brand in both offline and online channels,” the report said.
Apple witnessed a 104 per cent YoY growth in Q1 2022 with its series 7 variants contributing two-thirds of the shipments. It continued to lead the premium segment (>₹30,000, >$400) with over 87 per cent share.
Amazfit declined 35 per cent YoY in Q1 2022. The GTS 2 Mini contributed more than 30 per cent of its shipments.
“With the newer GTS Mini 2, we expect it to gain back some of its market share in the coming quarter,” it said.
Zebronics managed to remain in the top ten, launching several affordable models on various online and offline platforms.
OnePlus led in the ₹10,000-₹15,000 ($133-$200) retail price band with around 45 per cent share.
Xiaomi recorded a strong growth of 238 per cent QoQ in Q1 2022. Its newly introduced model Redmi Watch 2 Lite is performing well in the market.
Research Analyst Harshit Rastogi said, “The brands are pushing larger displays, which consumers are readily accepting. By pushing larger displays, the brands are also attracting smart band users as these bands have limited functionality due to smaller displays.”
“The contribution of the >1.5-inch smartwatches increased to more than half of the total smartwatch market from just 11 per cent last year. In addition, some of the most demanded features like SpO2 are now present at all price levels. Blood pressure monitoring as well as voice assistant are trickling down to lower price bands to attract budget-conscious customers,” said Rastogi.
Rastogi further said, “Multiple brands have already started domestic manufacturing. We could see a major jump in the contribution of domestically manufactured devices in the second half of 2022, especially from brands like Noise, boAt and Realme.”
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