Inflation, Spending Trends Take Toll on Q2 Wearables Shipments, Says IDC
Wearables shipments in Q2 slid 6.9% worldwide to 107.4 million due to rising inflation, recession fears and increased spending on other product categories, reported IDC Monday. Rising prices and “cooling demand” caused a lower outlook for the year, which IDC…
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pegs at a flat 535.5 million units. Four of the top vendors had declines in the quarter, IDC said, as smaller brands continue to target lower price points in the category, pressuring average selling prices for the market leaders. "It's unfortunate that companies like Apple, Samsung, and Google are in the midst of launching more premium smartwatches at a time when appetite for high priced products remains in question," said analyst Jitesh Ubrani. Apple had 25% market share in Q2, IDC said. Ubrani said the strength of the U.S. dollar makes consumer spending more difficult in local currencies throughout the world. While down, the wearables market “is certainly not out,” said analyst Ramon Llamas. "As the wearables market takes slow steps towards maturity, it will eventually reckon the ebbs and flows between the record-breaking volumes we saw during the pandemic and what we see today,” Llamas said, predicting a slower upward pace as consumers look for replacement products and the number of new users declines. Growth is expected to return next year on demand for smartwatches and hearables for new buyers in emerging markets and replacement shoppers in mature markets, said the research firm.