Holiday Quarter Woes Contribute to a Full-Year Decline in Shipments of Wearable Devices, According to IDC Tracker

Global shipments of wearable devices declined 18.9% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2022 (4Q22) to 138.7 million units, according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker. Shipments for the full year 2022 were down 7.7% compared to 2021, marking the first year of decline for the category due to challenging macroeconomic conditions and difficult comparisons to the strong results of 2021. Despite the downturn, overall shipments of 492.1 million units in 2022 were well above 2020 and 2019 levels.

Every geographic region except Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan and China) (APeJC) and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) experienced a year-over-year decline in wearable shipments for the full year 2022. APeJC and MEA, like many emerging markets within the regions, remain underpenetrated and have yet to face the extreme levels of inflation that other markets have observed.

Amongst the various product types, smartwatches grew 9.4% during 2022, reaching an all-time high of 148.6 million units with Apple in the lead. Huawei and Samsung captured the second and third positions in the smartwatch sub-market while India's Nexxbase and Fire-Boltt rounded out the global top 5 thanks to their value-oriented products sold within India. Hearables, the largest category of wearables, declined almost 10% as 2021 provided tough year-over-year comparisons while wrist bands, the third largest category, also continued to see shipments decline due to competition from smartwatches.

"Given the tough economic environment consumer demand has understandably slowed," said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers. "Having lower cost options available as part of their portfolio is one way vendors can help spur some demand in the coming quarters. Beyond that, trade-in offers, financing options, and subscription services will also play a key role in maintaining profitability while also bringing value to consumers."

"The past two years saw heady growth for the worldwide wearables market and the 2022 decline is what happens once demand has been satiated," said Ramon T. Llamas, research director, Mobile Devices and AR/VR at IDC. "The silver lining is that users will eventually replace their devices and that will put the market back on track for growth. This is where companies with a broad selection of devices with varying feature sets, price points, and an ecosystem built around them will be rewarded once growth returns."

In addition to the tables above, a graphic showing the worldwide market share of the top 5 wearables companies over the previous five quarters is available by viewing this press release on IDC.com.

About IDC Trackers

IDC Tracker products provide accurate and timely market size, vendor share, and forecasts for hundreds of technology markets from more than 100 countries around the globe. Using proprietary tools and research processes, IDC's Trackers are updated on a semiannual, quarterly, and monthly basis. Tracker results are delivered to clients in user-friendly Excel deliverables and on-line query tools.

For more information about IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, please contact Jackie Kliem at 508-988-7984 or jkliem@idc.com.

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International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights.

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Global shipments of wearable devices declined 18.9% year over year in Q4 2022 and 7.7% for all of 2022, according to new data from the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker.