India’s smartwatch market registered its highest-ever shipments in Q3 2021 to have a record QoQ growth of 159 percent, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s IoT service.
In YoY terms, the growth was 293 percent.
The top three brands contributed to almost two-thirds of the total market. The growth can be attributed to promotions across various platforms along with new launches, which contributed to around 28 percent of the total market in terms of shipments.
India Smartwatch Market Share of Top 5 Brands, Q3 2021 vs Q3 2020 | India Smartwatch Shipments Model Tracker, Q3 2021
Senior Research analyst Anshika Jain said, “Q3 is crucial for the smartwatch players as this is the time when they witness the highest growth. To meet the anticipated surge in demand during the festive sale, the brands push increased shipments into the channel. Besides, they come up with multiple launches and big discount schemes throughout the quarter. The market remained competitive in Q3 2021 with Noise and Boat together capturing almost 50% of it. Fire-Boltt, Apple and realme emerged as the fastest growing brands during the quarter.”
On the growth of local brands, Jain said, “Domestic brands have grown rapidly. They captured around 75 percent of the Indian smartwatch market in Q3 2021, compared to 38 percent in Q3 2020. This is the highest contribution from the 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 the Indian brands.”
Research Associate Harshit Rastogi said, “We are seeing a steep decline in the average selling price of a smartwatch. It has almost halved from the level a year back. More than 90 percent of the market now falls under Rs 10,000 with Rs 2,500-Rs 3,000 being the most competitive segment and contributing to around 40 percent of the overall market. With new launches coming at even lower prices, the market under Rs 2,000 is expected to witness higher growth in the coming months.”
Noise grew 231percent YoY and 141 percent QoQ in Q3 2021, capturing 25% of the market. Noise has a well-balanced portfolio with multiple models. Its newly launched devices had a 43 percent share in its total shipments during the quarter.
boAt grew 132 percent QoQ with 24 percent market share. Its boAt Storm remained the best-selling model in the market and alone had a 17 percentshare in the overall smartwatch market. It led the market in the most competitive price band of Rs 2,500-Rs 3,000.
Fire-Boltt had a tremendous quarter with 394 percent QoQ growth. It was the fastest growing smartwatch player in this quarter. Fire-Boltt had seven new launches in Q3 2021, which helped it gain the third spot in the market with a 17 percent share. It led the market in the Rs 2,000 and below segment. It also roped in cricketer Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador just before the festive sales in October.
realme made a comeback with the refreshed Watch 2 line-up. The brand registered 267 percent QoQ growth in Q3 2021, taking the fourth spot in the market with a 7 percent share. The Watch 2 series contributed to more than 70 percent of realme’s shipments in the quarter.
Amazfit grew 54 percent QoQ and more than four times in YoY terms. It topped the market in the Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000 price segment. Amazfit hosted its Brand Day Sales in September and introduced the premium Zepp Z model in the Indian market. The GTS 2 Mini was its most popular model during the quarter.
Samsung grew 153 percent QoQ and 40 percent YoY in Q3 2021. It introduced the Galaxy Watch 4 series with Wear OS during the quarter. The Galaxy Watch Active 2 remains popular and contributed to more than half of Samsung’s shipments in Q3 2021.
Apple had a great quarter with 289 percent QoQ growth. Its major contribution came from the SE series launched last year. Even the Series 3 contribution remained high. It led the market in the INR 20,000 and above price band.
Oneplus remained stable and continued to lead in the Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 price band with its OnePlus Watch.
Dizo entered the smartwatch market during the quarter with three models. The brand had a good start and is close to making a mark in the Top 10 list.
