Wearable market growth expected to slow in 2024 amidst plateauing innovation and inventory pile-up
wearable market is expected to grow at its slowest pace in 2024 since their inception in 2020 with market trackers predicting a single digit growth rate this year after growing at 34% on-year in 2023 to a record 134.2 million units.
Market tracker IDC said a single digit growth is expected due to a base effect in play, plateauing pace of innovation, and an inventory pile up in the second half of the year.
The rate of growth is expected to slow down despite another 15.4% decline in average selling prices (ASP), from $25 to $21.2 in the December quarter of 2023, according to an IDC report.
The ASP decline is being driven by the entry of non-branded products even as established incumbents such as Boat and Noise look to move up the price ladder due to their focus on tapping into the offline retail network.
“There is nothing dramatically new happening in the wearable space right now. If you see the offerings from all the top brands, they are almost the same. As a result, the phenomenal demand we used to see earlier is not there anymore,” said Vikas Sharma, senior market analyst, wearable devices, IDC India.
He added that the market is also going through a high inventory situation, which started in the first half, and ballooned in the second half. High inventory stockpiles will keep brands from flooding the channels further with new products.
The inventory glut is expected to affect both smartwatches and the earwear category in 2024, even though smartwatches are expected to continue outpacing earwear products.
Smar
