Thailand Wearables Market Up 47% in 2020

Article By : IDC

Thailand's shipments of wearables grew by 47.3% to 3.46 million units in 2020 despite the pandemic, according to IDC.

Thailand’s shipments of wearables grew by 47.3% to 3.46 million units in 2020 despite the pandemic, according to the International Data Corp.’s (IDC) Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, mainly driven by a strong uptake in the earwear segment—which grew to than 1.3 million units at a strong rate of 97%—and the expansion into the wearable market by Chinese smartphone vendors. However, in the fourth quarter of 2020 (4Q20), the shipment of wearable devices reached 788,000 units, a year-over-year decrease of 15.6% as another wave of COVID-19 cases spiked.

Product Category Highlights: 2020

Earwears’ shipment in 4Q20 has slightly dropped by quarter due to the high shipments from previous quarters. Inventory is very high in the channel such as Mi Earbuds Basic S, Galaxy Buds Live, while shortage occurred in many key vendors such as Apple AirPods, Huawei FreeBuds Pro. However, on a yearly basis, earwear has grown amid the pandemic, as consequence of the budget-friendly Chinese True Wireless Stereo (TWS) headphones and the popularity of the Noise-Canceling feature.

The wristband segment kept it is momentum and posted a year-over-year increase due to Mi band 5, Fitbit Charge 4. Shipments by quarter decreased due to huge shipments in 3Q20. Despite the smartwatch’s pricing continues to drop and consumers demand more features, wristband is a favored segment for the beginner user and still has it is value in the market.

The watch market has slightly declined yearly in 4Q20 due to another COVID-19 cases spike in late December, raising concerns about outdoor activities. However, top players are still able to maintain their significant shipment in the market throughout the year. The healthy trend kept growing strong as key players proliferated health sensors into it is devices such as Garmin’s Pulse Oximeter, Apple’s ECG feature, which are now available for Thai consumers.

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