India 3rd largest wearables market in world, grows nearly 40% in Q2: IDC

India market for wearable devices reached an all-time high of 3 million shipments in a single quarter, IDC said.

New Delhi: India market for wearable devices grew nearly 40 percent in the second quarter of 2019 making the country the third-largest wearables market in the world after China and USA, according to research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

“India market for wearable devices grew 30.9 percent Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ) in the second quarter of CY2019 (2Q19) and 123.6 percent when compared to the same quarter a year ago, reaching an all-time high of 3 million shipments in a single quarter,” the research firm said.

IDC said that this growth can be attributed to the rising popularity of the ear-worn wearables. It grew 122.7 percent QoQ and 374.9 percent annually in 2Q19 overtaking the wrist band shipments for the first time in the country. The earwear category includes wireless earphones that track health and fitness or enable smart assistants at the touch of a button or through hot word detection. This category accounted for most of the market shipments with 55.9 percent share, followed by wrist bands at 35.2 percent and watches at 6.9 percent.

"We are also seeing several smartphone brands launching ear-worn devices since it compliments their smartphone play and they can leverage their brand strength in this new category. Moreover, a set of new brands from India are entering the market to ride on the trend of true wireless devices at affordable prices, further helping in the growth of this category," said Anisha Dumbre, Market Analyst, IDC India.

Wrist bands witnessed a 24 percent QoQ decline in 2Q19. However, shipments saw a 19.3 percent annual growth compared to the same quarter last year.

In Q2 2019, earwear devices grew more than four times from the same quarter a year ago. India based vendors played an important role in this growth, IDC said.