India Led Global Smartwatch Shipments In Q1 2023 Amid Slump Worldwide

A new report on global smartwatch shipments revealed that India’s regional market surpassed North America and reclaimed its position as the top region with a 27 per cent share of global smartwatch shipments. 

Despite a contraction of 1.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in Q1 2023 in global smartwatch shipments, India saw 121 per cent growth in its shipments and managed to restrict the decline.

Counterpoint Research Senior Analyst Anshika Jain that India’s smartwatch market growth was driven by affordability, rising customer demand and availability of a wide variety of options in the budget segment.

The Counterpoint Research report found the market share of ‘Basic smartwatches’ significantly increased from 23 per cent to 34 per cent driven by rapid growth in the Indian market.

Meanwhile, China’s smartwatch market experienced a significant contraction of 28 per cent compared to the previous year, as the country’s economy showed a slower recovery than expected. This decline represents the sharpest contraction among the major regional markets and the lowest quarterly shipments since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Q1 2020.

Overall, Q1 2023 was the second consecutive quarter of a YoY decrease in global shipments, which were hit by the seasonal decline in demand for products from major players like Apple and Samsung, along with consumer sentiment dampened by global financial pressures.

Apple’s shipment volume fell 20 per cent YoY in Q1 2023. This was the first time in three years that its Q1 shipments fell below 10 million units. As a result, Apple’s market share, which was 32 per cent in Q1 2022, dropped to 26 per cent.

Interestingly, Indian brand Fire-Boltt surpassed Samsung for the first time and reached the second position in the global market. Its shipments increased by approximately three times compared to the previous year and saw a 57 per cent growth compared to the previous quarter.