Q2 Wearables Units Jumped 5.5%in Shipments but Fell 6.3% in ‘Mature’ Markets, Says IDC
Gains in emerging territories spurred a 5.5 percent Q2 increase in global wearables shipments to 27.9 million units, reported IDC Tuesday. The dollar volume increase outpaced that of units, “fueled by the continued popularity of smartwatches with their high price…
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tags,” said IDC. Measured by dollar value, shipments increased 8.3 percent to $4.8 billion, it said. Wearables unit shipments in the “mature” markets of North America, Japan and Western Europe declined 6.3 percent, it said. “These markets were largely comprised of basic wristbands last year, which have declined substantially since then and the growth in smartwatches has not been enough to offset the decline.” Unit shipments in the emerging markets of Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan), Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, grew 14 percent, “as basic wristbands are still in high demand,” it said. “The decline in mature markets is by no means worrisome as these markets are in the midst of transitioning to more sophisticated wearables," said IDC. "While the previous generation of wearables was focused on providing descriptive feedback like step counts, the current and upcoming generations are far more capable and are well on track to becoming prescriptive and diagnostic tools.” Consumers increasingly want “more from their wearable devices,” and smartwatches are meeting that demand, said IDC.