Wearables Had First Quarterly Decline in Q1 on 'Cooling Demand': IDC
Cooling demand led to wearables' first-ever quarterly decline, as Q1 shipments dropped 3% year on year, reported IDC Tuesday. The research firm cited consumers’ spending shift from categories “outside of wearables” after years of “precipitous growth.” Wristband shipments tumbled 41%…
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due to supply shortages and weaker demand, IDC said; watches grew 9.1%, at 28% of the category. Apple’s Watch SE had “surprising resilience," with 2 million shipped during the quarter after a year and a half on the market. "Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of their health and with more pricing options, there seems to be a watch available for everyone," said analyst Jitesh Ubrani, noting competitive products from Google and Samsung. Hearables sales slipped 0.6% in the quarter, after experiencing a boom period driven by work- and learn-from-home trends, IDC said. Apple AirPods’ growth flattened in Q1 on competition from low-cost alternatives, it said. Apple had 31% of the wearables market in the quarter on 6.6% year-on-year growth; Samsung shipments declined 9.9% for 10.3% share, it said.