CHART: India's Wearable Market Faces First-Ever Decline in Q2 2024

Emmanuel Oyedeji -
  • India's wearable market faced a first-ever decline, with shipments plummeting 10% year-over-year.
  • The smartwatch segment took the biggest hit, with shipments crashing by 27.4%.
  • Average selling prices for wearables plummeted by 10.3%, hitting a record low.

India's once-booming wearable market has hit a snag. 

For the first time ever, shipments declined by a significant 10% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2024, totalling a mere 29.5 million units. This unexpected downturn cast a long shadow over the entire first half, with shipments declining by 4.7% to 55.1 million units.

This sharp decline, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), was triggered by a flurry of factors, including vendors' focus on clearing out old inventory leading to a slowdown of new product launches, and a cooling consumer demand.

Exacerbating the industry's woes, average selling prices (ASP) plummeted by a staggering 10.3%, falling from US$21.0 to a record low of US$18.8 in Q2 2024. This decline was primarily driven by aggressive discounting to clear inventory and a general price war among competitors.