Global shipments of wearable devices returned to growth in the second quarter of 2023 following two quarters of decline. IDC said that the market grew 8.5% year-over-year with shipments reaching 116.3 million devices.
The growth in shipments was largely due to a fall in average selling prices caused by increased competition and an effort by retailers to reduce their excess inventory. Over the last year, there has also been increased competition from smaller companies and there has also been an increase in the shipments of lesser known wearables such as rings.
Commenting on this phenomenon, Jitesh Ubrani, research manager, Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers at IDC, said:
‘While fitness tracking, such as steps taken and distances run, has been helpful in capturing the mainstream audience, many consumers are now clamoring for a more holistic approach to health tracking, paving the way for features such as sleep monitoring, recovery metrics, readiness scores, and stress level tracking.
This is where smaller brands, such as Oura, Whoop, and Withings, have been able to carve out a niche, though many big name brands and some local companies are closely eyeing this space and are expected to launch products in the coming months.’
Forecasting about the future, IDC said that 520 million wearables will be shipped this year, up 5.6% compared to 2022. Of these, hearables are the top category representing 62% of the wearable shipments. Following this is smartwatches at 32% of shipments. By the end of 2027, IDC believes shipments will reach 625.4 million, representing a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7%.
In terms of which categories saw the most growth year-over-year, smartwatches dominated with 11.3% growth, others came in second at 6.8% growth, earwear grew 4.5%, and wristbands fell 8.8%.
The top five brands are Apple, Xiaomi, Imagine Marketing, Huawei, and Samsung. Apple was head and shoulders above the competition in terms of unit market share.
Source: IDC
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