Local brands drive smartwatch demand

Smartwatch shipments in India hit their highest-ever tally of about 4.4 million units during the July-September quarter this calendar year as local brands intensified market penetration with multiple launch offers and discounts. The fall in the average selling prices of smartwatches also helped drive the rally.

According to Counterpoint Research, India’s smartwatch market registered its highest ever shipments in Q3 2021 to post a record Q-o-Q growth of 159%. On an annual basis, the growth was 293%.

Top three brands contributed to almost two-thirds of the total market with Counterpoint attributing the growth to promotions across various platforms along with new launches, which contributed to around 28% of the total market in terms of shipments.

Counterpoint’s senior research analyst Anshika Jain told FE, “Q3 is a crucial period for smartwatch players as this is the time when they witness highest growth.

To meet the anticipated surge in demand during the festive sale, brands push increased shipments into the channel. Besides, they came up with multiple launches and big discount schemes throughout the quarter.”

Another reason behind the surge are price points at which smartwatches are available today, Jain said, adding “New smartwatches are available at a price of `2,000-3,000. Compared with last year, the ASP (average selling price) has almost halved.”

Besides customer preference is growing as they want to experience the device, and the demand is also coming from the smartband side. Smartband users are gradually shifting to smartwatches. The gap between the ASP of a smartband and smartwatch is also coming down, she explained.

During Q3 2021, the market remained competitive with Noise and Boat together capturing almost 50% of it. Fire-Boltt, Apple and Realme emerged as fastest growing brands during the quarter.

On growth of local brands, Jain said, “Domestic brands have grown rapidly capturing around 75% of the domestic market in Q3 2021, compared to 38% in Q3 2020. This is the highest contribution from Indian players so far. 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 Indian brands.”

Going ahead, Jain said, “In the short term, we will see new brands continue to enter the market and their features will also become more innovative. For 2022, we are expecting around 52-55% growth compared to 2021. However, in the long term, only true innovation will stay and consolidation will surely happen in this market.”

Originally appeared on: TheSpuzz