India’s smartwatch shipments rose marginally by 0.3% year-over-year (YoY) in quarter one (Q1) of 2024, marking the bustling market’s first-ever stagnation, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s IoT Service.
However, it was good news for Apple. In the premium segment, the company grew more than 3x due to continued demand for the Apple Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
The Indian smartwatch market was on a high growth streak over the past couple of years driven by high demand, particularly from the youth, according to Counterpoint. However, the muted growth in Q1 2024 indicates declining replacement rates among early adopters due to limited differentiation and innovation among key players, adds the research group.
“The overall market, which has been registering double- and triple-digit growth over the last couple of years, remained flat in Q1 2024 as some top brands faced difficulties in clearing their existing stocks,” says Counterpoint Senior Analyst Anshika Jain. “Consumers are not warming up to buy a new smartwatch or replace an existing one due to low differentiation in terms of features and limited innovation in the market leading to decline in combined market share of the top three players from 77% in Q1 2023 to 66% in Q1 2024.”
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