The worldwide market for wearable devices, now inclusive of wireless headphones with smart assistants, is forecast to grow 15.3% over the previous year to 198.5 million units by the end of 2019, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker.
Driving that growth will be the continued proliferation of watches, ear-worn devices, and wrist bands as well as further adoption in the healthcare segment. Looking ahead, the market is expected to reach 279 million units by the end of 2023 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9%.
“The rise of smart assistants on wearables, both wrist-worn and ear-worn, is a trend worth watching,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC’s Mobile Device Trackers. “Though still in its infancy, the integration of these assistants with wearables opens up new use cases, from allowing these devices to tie into the smart home to making the devices more proactive at urging users to live healthier or more productive lives.”
“Two major drivers for the wearables market are healthcare and enterprise adoption,” said Ramon T. Llamas, research director for IDC’s Wearables team. “Wearables stand to play an important role in digital health, constantly collecting important patient data while also giving patients the ability to self-monitor. Within the enterprise, wearables can help to accelerate companies’ digital transformation by transmitting information back and forth while allowing workers to complete their tasks faster. This is where both vendors and companies can streamline processes to achieve faster results.”
Product Category Highlights
Watches accounted for 44.2% of the entire wearables market in 2018 and its share is anticipated to grow throughout the forecast, reaching 47.1% in 2023. Smartwatches from Apple will undoubtedly lead the way and despite increasing competition from watches running forked versions of Android as well as Wear OS, WatchOS will account for 27.5% of all watches in 2023. Other than smartwatches, hybrid watches and simpler kids’ watches will also continue to grow albeit at a much slower pace.
Earwear, also referred to as hearables and ear-worn devices, will be the second largest category of wearables in 2023 with 31% share. The inclusion of biometric sensors and the adoption of smart assistants will help drive this category forward throughout the forecast.
Wristbands, once the most popular form factor, will experience flat growth with a CAGR of 0.7%. Meanwhile, growth in terms of dollar value is expected to decline with a -4.1% CAGR during the same period as average selling prices drop from $51 in 2019 to $42 in 2023. The market is already dominated by Chinese brands such as Huawei and Xiaomi, and IDC expects this to continue.
Connected Clothing will be largely comprised of step-counting shoes and similar devices. To date these types of products have mainly been popular in China but that is slowly changing as brands such as Nike and Under Armour make headway in other markets. In the later years of the forecast, IDC expects to see more enterprise applications introduced as companies aim to monitor employees in hazardous situations.
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Worldwide Wearables Forecast by Product Category, including Shipments, Market Share, and 2019-2023 CAGR (shipments in millions) |
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Product Category |
2019 Shipments* |
2019 Market Share* |
2023 Shipments* |
2023 Market Share* |
2019-2023 CAGR* |
|
Clothing |
3.0 |
1.5% |
8.5 |
3.1% |
30.2% |
|
Earwear |
54.4 |
27.4% |
86.5 |
31.0% |
12.3% |
|
Watch |
90.6 |
45.6% |
131.3 |
47.1% |
9.7% |
|
Wristband |
49.0 |
24.7% |
50.4 |
18.1% |
0.7% |
|
Others |
1.7 |
0.8% |
2.3 |
0.8% |
8.2% |
|
Total |
198.5 |
100.0% |
279.0 |
100.0% |
8.9% |
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Source: IDC Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, March 18, 2019 |
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Note: All figures represent forecast data.
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. To see more of IDC’s worldwide wearables market data, go to https://www.idc.com/promo/wearablevendor.
For more information about IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, please contact Kathy Nagamine at 650-350-6423 or [email protected].
About IDC
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 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology 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 media, data and marketing services company that activates and engages the most influential technology buyers. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn.
