BoAt, Noise, OnePlus on top as wearables market grows 20% in Jan-March

BoAt, Noise and OnePlus led the wearables market in the January-March quarter with a total of 41.2% market share in the overall segment, according to the recent data from the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) India monthly wearable device tracker.

Imagine Marketing, the company that makes BoAt wearable products, retained the number one spot with a 22.9% market share in Q1, primarily due to its broad portfolio and push in the wearable watch category.

Nexxbase, which makes Noise products, finished the quarter in second place with a 10.9% market share. Its brand Noise grew 150.1% YoY in the Jan-March quarter, though multiple launches at competitive prices brought down the average selling price of its watches by 31.3% to $31.5 and earwear devices to $16.6, a decline of 37.2% YoY.

OnePlus finished the third but was the only player in the top five to register a decline of 35.8% YoY. With 94.5% of its portfolio in the earwear category, OnePlus’ distribution across online and offline channels helped it secure a place in the wearable market.

Fire-Boltt and Realme finished fourth and fifth at 6.6% market share each, and others held a collective share of 45.6%.

“Aggressive discounts, new features, and a strong push from brands and channel partners are encouraging consumers to upgrade and spend more on wearable watches,” says Anisha Dumbre, senior market analyst, Client Devices, IDC India.

He adds that while dependence on devices like TWS and wearable watches is increasing, supply remains a concern for the industry. "Intense competition in the sub-$50 category is pushing all brands to offer competitive offerings in terms of pricing, features, and device design,” says Dumbre.

The overall wearables market in India shipped 1.39 crore units in the Jan-March period, up 20.1% YoY (year-over-year), compared to 1.1 crore units shipped in the same quarter last year. New launches, discounts across channels, and aggressive marketing by brands helped companies post decent growth in the wearables category. However, the average selling price of the overall category declined 17.1% YoY due to a stronger decline in the ASP of watches.

In the wearables segment, watches continued to be the fastest-growing category, shipping 37,00,000 units, up 173% YoY, in Jan-March. In the watches category, basic watches accounted for 95.1% of total shipments. This category grew 202.1% YoY despite aggressive competition at entry-level price points. At the same time, smartwatch shipments declined 4.2% annually.

The Wrist bands category in wearables continued to decline annually for the 9th consecutive quarter. Overall, wristwear comprising watches and wristbands grew 87.5% yearly from Jan-March, with a total shipment of 40 lakh units.

The earwear category accounted for 71.3% (98 lakh units) of the overall wearables segment. The truly wireless stereo share grew to 48.3%, with a growth of 48.2% YoY. The watch category sold 37 lakh shipments, while the wrist band category sold 2.5 lakh shipments.