The global wearables market declined for the first time ever following a sluggish first quarter.
Unit shipments during the first three months of 2022 totalled 105.3 million units, a drop of 3 per cent year-on-year.
This is according to the latest data from the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, who credit the drop to “cooling demand as consumers begin to spend more in categories outside of wearables following years of precipitous growth that were further amplified during the pandemic.”
The terribly named ‘hearables’ category, which makes up the largest share, fell 0.6 per cent, following a pandemic-driven boom. Wristbands dropped 40.5 per cent, as they quickly get phases out by smartwatches, which grew 9.1 per cent, now making up 28 per cent of the total market.
“Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of their health and with more pricing options, there seems to be a watch available for everyone,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.
“Competition is also on the rise as smaller brands ramp up their basic health and fitness tracking watches at the low end, and as Google along with Samsung and other Wear OS partners finally become more competitive with Apple at the high end of the spectrum.”
“Cooling demand will force companies to further differentiate themselves,” added Ramon T. Llamas, research director, Mobile Devices and AR/VR at IDC.
“With most features becoming increasingly common among the different devices, companies will have to convince customers to upgrade with best-in-class experiences knowing that there are plenty of alternatives available. This will call for new hardware, software, and services that will both surprise and delight, and keep customers engaged.”