India’s Wearable Market Reaches 400,000 units in Q1 2016, Xiaomi Leads In Fitness Bands: IDC

As per a report by research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), India’s wearable market reached 400,000 units in Q1 2016 with fitness bands dominating the market and accounting for 87.7% of the market share. Meanwhile smart wearables such as smart watches contributed to around 12.3%.

The report noted that while Xiaomi and GOQii have a 45% market share, Fitbit has the maximum market value share. It also stated that while the wearable market is rapidly gaining traction as it provides an easy health tracking mechanism to the users, however the smart wearables have not yet gained enough ground because of the higher price attached to them. Additionally, the online channel was the most preferred means for majority of the vendors, given the fact that Fitbit and Apple being the only two brands that are widely present in physical stores.

According to Raj Nimesh, Senior Market Analyst, Client Devices, IDC, “The popularity of wearable devices is restricted to urban sectors with relatively higher disposable income. Since online platforms are immensely popular in this segment, nearly three-quarter of the sales happened through leading online retailers. However, to expand the reach, an increasing number of brands are taking up the offline channel, especially though major large format retail (LFR) outlets.”

Xiaomi garnered 21.1% market share in the first quarter, riding high on its affordable fitness tracker Mi Band. It was followed by GOQii with 18.1% market share, while Fitbit came in third with 6.2% market share in terms of units. However, the brand leads in terms of market value share, currently over 10% more than its closest competitor. Samsung came in at number four with 2.5% market share. However it leads in the smart wearable category with 20.4% market share on account of its popular Gear S2 smart watch. Meanwhile, Motorola was fifth in the list with 1.4% market share. The second-generation device from Moto 360 had been as popular as its predecessor and helped Motorola attain the 1.4% market share.

Though the smart wearables remained low at 12.3%, a higher growth rate compared to basic devices is expected in near future. IDC expects smart wearables (wearables which can also run third-party apps, compared to basic fitness bands) to post a higher growth rate in the future. In the smart wearables market, which includes smart watches, Samsung and Motorola were on top, with Apple coming at number three.

In April this year, Bangalore-based outdoor gear, apparel & footwear company Wildcraft has launched an intelligent GPS tracking wearable device called SPOT. SPOT can be worn as a band or attached to bags. The app tracks and records personal travels as well as real time locations of loved ones via a smartphone app available on iOS and Android.