Canalys: Global shipments of wearable wristbands will reach 186 million in 2023, up 2% year-on-year

Canalys predicts that the global wearable wristband market will grow by 2% in 2023, with shipments reaching 186 million units. This growth is mainly driven by a sharp increase of 22% in shipments of basic watches in emerging markets, especially India. In addition, the growth effectively offset the impact of a 9% decline in smartwatch sales and a 10% decline in shipments of basic wristbands. Looking ahead, the wearable wristband market will usher in a more substantial increase, with an expected growth of 10% in 2024. This positive trend is due to the resurgence of interest in smartwatches around the world, whose shipments are expected to grow by 17%.

“Basic watches became a prominent trend in 2023, with this category expected to account for more than 40% of wearable wristband shipments this year,” said Jack Leathem, research analyst at Canalys. “The success of basic watches can be attributed to a perfect combination of reasonable prices, attractive product designs and emerging market demand. These devices strike a balance between fashion and technology, and are affordable, making them a practical short-term alternative to expensive smartwatches, which has also led to a decline in the popularity of basic wristbands with less functionality. Canalys expects this trend away from basic wristbands to continue, with shipments expected to fall to 12% by 2027, especially as basic wristband market leaders such as Xiaomi and Google (Fitbit) increasingly shift their focus to higher-margin watch styles.”

Canalys also expects the rise of cloud-based services, especially generative AI, to gain momentum in 2024, following commitments from Zepp Health and Google in 2023. Smartwatch vendors’ increasing adoption of compelling AI features bodes well for growth.