Indian wearable market clocks 2.5 million units in 2016

The wearable market in India observed a shipment of 2.5 million units in 2016 with Goqii and Xiaomi dominating the entry-level segment, International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker has said.
The total wearable shipments in the fourth quarter of 2016 comprised 675,000 units, which included both smart wearables that can run third party apps and basic wearables, which cannot.
Wearables shipments declined 19.6% sequentially as basic wearables — that account to 86.4% of total wearables — declined 23.9%  in the fourth quarter of 2016.
“Shipments declined in the last quarter of the year after a sharp spike in the third quarter owing to channel preparation for the festive season in October,” Navkendar Singh, senior research manager at IDC India, said in a statement.
“However, smart wearable shipments grew 23.6% in CY Q4 2016 as new vendors like Fossils made their entry into the Indian wearable market and fresh shipments of new models from vendors like Apple and Samsung fuelled the growth,” Singh added.
In terms of price, the less than $50 segment dominated the category accounting for 73% of total wearable shipments. This segment was dominated by fitness trackers from vendors like Goqii and Xiaomi while Intex shipments shrank.
“Owing to its low-cost affordability, this price segment continues to see mostly first time buyers experimenting with this relatively new form factor in the market. In an effort to enhance the value proposition, devices in this price segment have seen a drastic evolution over the last year from being basic activity trackers to ones with display, basic phone notifications and heart rate sensors,” Karthik J, senior market analyst, Client Devices at IDC India, added.
According to IDC India, the traction that wearable devices market saw in 2016 would continue in 2017.