Wearables Continue Their Rising Trends In India

The strong momentum in the watch and earwear categories led to the highest ever first-quarter shipments in India, finds a study

The India wearables market grew 170.3% year-over-year (YoY) in the first quarter (January-march) of this year, shipping 11.4 million units, according to the recent data from the International Data corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker. The strong momentum in the watch and earwear categories led to the highest ever first-quarter shipments in India.

Watches grew 463.8% YoY in 1Q21 to become the fastest-growing category in wearables, replacing earwear which also maintains a triple-digit growth in 1Q21. The overall wristwear category, which includes wrist bands and watches, grew 74.8% YoY in this quarter, further establishing the importance of fitness and health tracking devices in the country.

However, shipments for overall wearables fell by 24.9% sequentially in 1Q21, owing primarily to a drop in earwear shipments. Following three-quarters of tremendous growth, the earwear category experienced a quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) decline of 28.6% in 1Q21. This decline can be primarily attributed to the leftover inventory with channel partners as it restricted the fresh buying in this quarter.