By Emmanuel Oluebube, Senior Correspondent, UK

2023 will be a year of recovery for wearable devices after the market’s first-ever contraction in 2022. Global shipments in 2023 are poised to reach 442.7 million devices this year, growing 6.3 per cent year over year. The majority of shipments are expected later in the year as the first quarter will likely see another year-over-year decline, according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker. Excess inventory is plaguing many channels and depressing both shipments and average selling prices (ASPs) in the short term. However, IDC expects these wrinkles to be ironed out by the second half of 2023 with growth to continue well beyond as worldwide shipments are forecast to reach 644.5 million in 2027 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4 per cent.

“Smartwatches like those from Apple, Samsung, and Google will face a challenging environment in 2023 as many have moved upstream in terms of pricing during a tough macroeconomic climate and the discounts applied on these products may not be enough to offset the negative impacts of inflation and foreign exchange rates,” said research manager for IDC Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers, Jitesh Ubrani. “That said, the pricing dichotomy within the smartwatch space, with pro/ultra models introduced at the high end and older models or new smartwatches from value brands at the low end, is eroding the options in the middle of the market.”

“Conversely, earwear will rebound in 2023,” added Ramon T. Llamas, research director with IDC’s Wearables team. “The past two years saw amazing growth as a result of lockdowns and the desire to consume content independently. However, that growth slowed in 2022 as demand was satiated and those who wanted earwear had them. What makes 2023 different is that it marks the start of replacement cycles and there are plenty of devices – available at different feature sets and price points – available.”.