As India straddles the path of technical evolution, consumers seem to be the most welcoming of the trends which si quite well in the figures too. India’s consumption in wearables is characterized by 34% growth, taking the figures to a record number of 134.2 million units while the Average Selling Price (ASP) of overall wearables declined by 15.4% to US$21.2 as 2023 concluded. 

While the category is comparatively new, the audience is latching happily to the same very quickly with a special emphasis on smartwatches and earwear. But what does the Wearables category stand for? 

What Are Wearables?

Any device that is worn or attached to one’s body to transmit, record, or show important medical, biological, or any other data accurately is referred to as a wearable. It includes Smartwatches, VR Headsets, Wearable Electrocardiograms, etc. 

With IoT expanding its feet deep into the human world, smart items like Bulbs, Televisions, Watches, Cars, etc are gradually turning into the basics of human existence on the earth. The convenience and opportunities brought by these are quite attractive for the market in keeping track of real-time data and ensuring the best possible experience. It consists of the following based on their usage: 

1. Health & Fitness Wearables: Wearables associated with the health and wellness sector, like Fitbit or Apple Watch, are termed health and fitness wearables. These devices collect data related to our health parameters like heart rate, Spo2, Sleep cycle, etc, and help us make informed decisions to improve our health. 
2. Gaming Wearables: Wearables used in playing games are termed Gaming wearables. It includes Virtual Reality (VR) Headsets that facilitate users to play games in a virtual space offering the user a real-world experience. These provide the gamer with an immersive experience by translating touch and vibrations into sensations, making the experience more real.  
3. Fashion Wearables: Clothes or accessories that incorporate technology to enhance functionality or both are referred to as fashion wearables. It includes Smart Glasses, Heated Clothing, and Smart Shoes among many others. These help in tracking health data, providing connectivity, or offering interactive features while still serving a fashionable purpose.
4. Education Wearables: Devices designed to enhance learning experiences through technology, often by providing real-time feedback facilitating interactive learning are referred to as Educational wearables. It includes Smart Badges, Wearable Language Translators, Biofeedback Wearables, etc.  
5. Logistics Wearables: Wearable devices integrated with technology to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and safety in supply chains are referred to as logistic wearables. These provide workers with real-time data and tracking capabilities making it easier for them to streamline processes in warehouses, distribution centers and delivery environments. 

Indian Wearables Market 

According to IDC, the Indian wearable market has registered a stupendous growth rate of 34 at 134.2 million units, as the 4Q23 closed with 28.4 million units. It has showcased a Y-o-Y growth of around 12.7% with its key players being: 

1. BOAT (Imagine Marketing) 
2. NOISE (Nexxbase) 
3. Fire-Boltt 
4. Oppo + OnePlus (Oppo)
5. Boult Audio 
6. Titan 
7. Beat XP
8. Mivi (Seminole) 

Key trends of the Indian wearable market are: 

1. Major Segment:  As per the data published on the site of IDC, Earewears makeup around 60%, which is 80,448.5 thousand shipments, in the CY23 Shipments among the wearables category thus representing the largest segment in the sector. It has recorded a Y-o-Y growth of around 16.9% whereas the total growth recorded by the wearables industry stands at 34% in the year 2023.  Within the EarWear segment, Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) registered the highest growth reaching up to 67.3% in CY23 as against  55.3% in CY22 showcasing a growth rate of 42.3%. At the same time, shipments for neckbands declined by 15.2%.
2. Highest Growing Segment: Although earwear represents a major segment among the Wearables, Smartwatches are the ones witnessing the highest growth among all. As per the data on the site of IDC, the Smartwatch segment registered 53,371.9 thousand shipments in CY23 as against 30,720.6 Thousand Nos shipments in 2022 witnessing a Y-o-Y growth rate of 73.7%, much higher than the average of the Wearables industry. The smartwatches segment makes up around 39.7% of the total wearables shipments in the CY2023.  Among Smartwatches Segment, the share of advanced smartwatches shrank from 4.5 to 2.1%, roughly 1.1 Million units.  
3. Declining Segment: Among the wearables, wristwatches registered a record negative decline by trundling to -65.1% Y-o-Y growth, roughly 206.4 thousand shipments as against 591.9 thousand in CY2022. It encompasses bands or watches capable of processing the data digitally while excluding advanced smartwatches (e.g., Apple Watch, Wear OS watches), and Basic Smartwatches (e.g., Noise watches, BoAt watches).

What's driving the SmartWatch segment? 

As stated above, the smartwatches segment has registered the highest growth in the Indian wearables market. As per IDC, the major reasons driving growth within the smartwatches segment are: 

• Affordability: As prices always remain a make-or-break factor in customer attraction, a similar trend has been registered in the smartwatches segment. It registered the highest Y-o-Y growth among the wearables as the Average Selling price (ASP) for smartwatches dropped by 38.7% to US$ 26.1 from US$ 42.5.
• Low Product Penetration: Despite the overall popularity of wearables, smartwatches still have significant room for expansion, as many consumers have yet to adopt them. This low penetration rate presents a vast opportunity for manufacturers to attract new users. This indicates the untapped customer segment lying in the Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
• Abundance of Options: The market is flooded with diverse smartwatch options, catering to various tastes, budgets, and functionalities. This variety not only allows consumers to find a device that fits their specific needs but also encourages competition among brands, leading to improved features and lower prices.

How are the Major brands performing? 

As the Indian wearables market showed good metrics in terms of Growth, Product Range, ASP  and Overall competition, major brands have been able to retain their positions and market share. While Boat and Noise remained at 1st and 2nd, Fire-Bolt registered itself at 3rd with a record 10.1% market share in CY23. 

Top 5 Brands & Their Performance: 

1. Boat: Boat championed the chart with a market share of around 26% in CY23 against 29.3% in CY22, witnessing a Y-o-Y growth of around 18.8% in the overall wearables segment. 
2. Noise: Noise ranked second on the chart with a market share of around 12.1% in CY23 against 12.2% in CY22, witnessing a Y-o-Y growth of around 33.3% in the overall wearables segment. 
3. Fire Boltt: Fire-Bolt ranked third on the chart with a market share of around 10.1% in CY23 against 8.1% in CY22, witnessing a Y-o-Y growth of around 67.6% in the overall wearables segment. 
4. Oppo: Noise ranked fourth on the chart, with a market share of around 7.8% in CY23 against 10.3% in CY22. The overall wearables segment witnessed a Y-o-Y growth of around 1.6%. 
5. Boult Audio: Boult Audio ranked second on the chart a with market share of around 6.9 % in CY23 against 4.0%CY22 , witnessing an Y-o-Y growth of around 130.1% in the overall wearables segment. 

Let's Look at Things Globally

The global wearables market stands today at  $186.48 Billion with Asia Pacific being the fastest growing market while North America being the largest market. It is expected that the global wearables market will grow to USD 493.26 Billion by 2029 with a CAGR of 17.60%. Experts and surveys suggest that this particular trend is majorly driven by smartwatches wherein people are willing to buy the tech contributing to the attractiveness, utility, and demand of the segment. 

The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has inculcated a behavior in people’s minds to keep track of their health and monitor aspects like Oxygen, heart rate, etc have contributed to higher growth of the smartwatches segment. The Top 5 Global brands are: 

1. Apple Inc. 
2. Samsung Group 
3. Xiaomi Inc. 
4. Fitbit Inc. 
5. Sony Corporation. 

How are Indian Brands doing Globally? 

Let's look at specific events, trends, and instances making it to the top list. 

1. Boat: Boat had ranked 5th in the Global wearables market with Google Owned Fitbit. It acquired 2.6% of Global wearable shipments in the September quarter of 2020. Recently, it has launched its pre-IPO shares while awaiting regulatory clearances for an Rs 1100 Crore IPO to be listed. With strides moving forward the only thing that awaits the boat is its global expansion plans for which undertones are already in place. 
2. Noise: Already positioned as India’s 2nd top, it onboarded Bose, a global Audio equipment brand, as a minority stakeholder in its management with lingering possibilities of utilizing Bose’s research and development attributes and considerable market penetration at the global level to enhance its brand value and also make its global expansion plan palpable.
3. Crossbeats: The Bangalore-based Indian brand claims to record 50-55 orders weekly from its US-based market and plans to expand in Europe with new products in the pipeline. It aspires to generate around 15% of its revenue from Global sales in FY23.  

Opportunities Upfront 

While there seems to be some sort of undertones regarding Global Expansion, Indian brands are faced with some pertinent challenges and opportunities. Let’s look at the major opportunities: 

• Affordability: As the Global wearables market is slated to grow to USD 493.26 Billion by 2029 with a CAGR of 17.60%, very strong demand for affordable, high-quality, and durable devices is expected to hit the market in the near future. In such a case Brands like Boat & Noise having a significant domestic presence can take their products on the global stage. 
• Health Concerns: As the world saw the outbreak of COVID-19, the people around have grown more and more cautious and concerned about their health and taking care of the same. In such a case products like rings, smartwatches, etc are slated to grab more and more market share in the overall wearables industry. This presents a great opportunity for the Indian brands to expand globally. 
• Deep Penetration: Indian brands enjoy good penetration into the Tier-II and Tier-III markets while the global brands remain limited to the Tier-I cities. The learning and strategies of the penetration can help the brands expand in other regions with a focus on Tier-II & Tier-III markets worldwide. 
• Strategic Partnerships: Counting on Noise and Bose's collaboration, the strategy can be better implemented by other brands too to facilitate their entry into untouched and untapped markets with well-established supply chains of big companies. This would also not need these companies to garner huge investments and huge burn rates. 

Challenges 

While the scenario poses great opportunities its is marked by significant challenges too, some of which are mentioned below: 

• Cut-throat Competition: Global wearables markets are dominated by established players like Apple, Samsung, Fitbit, and Xiaomi. Competing with these well-established brands, especially in mature markets, will be challenging for Indian brands, which may struggle with brand recognition and customer trust initially.
• Low Brand Recognition: While Indian brands are well-regarded domestically, they may face hurdles in terms of credibility and trust when entering international markets. Global consumers may be skeptical about the quality and durability of Indian products, which could impact adoption.
• After-Sales Support: Global customers expect robust after-sales support and warranty services. Indian companies may struggle to establish a seamless global customer support system, which could hinder customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, especially if there are language barriers or time zone differences.
• Battle against Perceptions: While Indian brands have succeeded in offering affordable wearables in India, translating that affordability into global markets could be difficult. In certain regions, especially Europe and North America, consumers are willing to pay a premium for established global brands with a track record of reliability and innovation.

Prospects

The future appears bright for Indian brands as they carve out a niche for themselves in the global wearable market. With a growing consumer base that is tech-savvy and an increasing emphasis on health and fitness, Indian businesses are well-positioned to use their creative designs and affordable prices to draw attention from around the world. The partnership between multinational behemoths like Bose and niche brands like Noise demonstrates the calculated steps taken to improve technological prowess and market presence. Furthermore, other businesses can learn from the success of boAt, a company that has already made significant progress worldwide. These companies are changing how the world views wearable technology as they develop and broaden their reach, which is helping to establish India as a major force in the tech sector.