Cheaper knockoffs take shine off big wearables brands
white-labelled smartwatches and wireless earbuds have flooded the market with cheap copies of popular models, hurting established Indian players such as Boat. In a recent report, International Data Corporation said these cheap alternative offerings of popular models, imported from China, are diluting the first-time user experience, affecting the business of the incumbents in the market.
These products, which closely resemble the design of the Apple Watch and other premium smartwatches, are also pulling down the average selling price (ASP) in the industry to record lows, making it difficult for the entrenched brands to compete or «premiumise», industry executives and experts said. The ASP in the wearable segment fell about 39% to $26.10 in 2023 from an already low $42.50 the previous year, se per IDC.
«There are way too many players simply bringing products from China and selling it here. They don't have any control over the software, where the data is going, and that is just dangerous for the consumer,» said Sameeer Mehta, chief executive at Imagine Marketing which owns Boat. «These are all trader brands who have no control over the product but want to make hay in a booming market.»
Companies selling non-branded products are taking advantage of a lack of customer understanding of the product, he said. «When the customer is experiencing a product for the first time, he doesn't know the difference between an ₹800 product and a ₹1,600 product, because the features will be the same in both, but the quality will be
