India’s home-grown brands seem to be coming on to their own. Brands like Noise, boAt and Fire-Bolt are dominating the proceedings as the smartwatch market registered its highest ever shipments in Q3 2021.
According to a report from Counterpoint’s IoT service, the Indian smartwatch market had a record QoQ growth of 159%, which in YoY terms was 293% higher.
The report said Indian brands captured around 75% of the smartwatch market in Q3 2021, compared to 38% in Q3 2020. This is the highest contribution from the Indian players so far.
Among the brands, Noise and boAT together captured almost 50% of it. But the competition is not lagging behind. Fire-Boltt, Apple and Realme emerged as the fastest growing brands during the quarter.
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How did this growth happen?
Apparently, the Indian brands' strategy of involving celebrity in endorsements, introductory pricing schemes, discount offers, and regular new launches is paying good dividends.
The companies have been hard-selling the smartwatches, and the report pointed out that promotions across various platforms and new launches contributed to around 28% of the total market in terms of shipments. Of course, the festival period, which is peak sale time in India, also helped.
Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain said, “Q3 is crucial for the smartwatch players as this is the time when they witness the highest growth. To meet the anticipated surge in demand during the festive sale, the brands push increased shipments into the channel. Besides, they come up with multiple launches and big discount schemes throughout the quarter."
Commenting on pricing, Research Associate Harshit Rastogi said, “We are seeing a steep decline in the average selling price of a smartwatch. It has almost halved from the level a year back. More than 90% of the market now falls under Rs 10,000 with Rs 2,500-TRs 3,000 being the most competitive segment and contributing to around 40% of the overall market."
With new launches coming at even lower prices, the market under Rs 2,000 is expected to witness higher growth in the coming months.
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