The smartwatch market - Germany

1.1 Scope of the study

The connected watch, also called "smartwatch", is an electronic watch with sophisticated communication functions: receiving and sending phone calls, notifications from a cell phone, sending and receiving messages, voice recognition. These devices are usually equipped with a touch screen that allows the display to be customized by changing the dial; they usually act as companions for smartphones to which they are linked by a Bluetooth connection.

Between 2014 and 2020, the global connected watch market grew at a blistering 53.5 percent per year in volume. While North America represents the largest regional market for this technology product, accounting for 35% of global consumption, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to see the strongest growth in the coming years. Demand in Asia is being driven by widespread access to smartphones and massive use of digital services. According toIDC's forecast, smartwatch sales are expected to grow at an annual rate of 5.53% through 2027.

The global leaders in the smartwatch market are Apple, Samsung, Huawei and Noise. Although it is rather the younger generation that is interested in smartwatches, one feature represents a trend: The electrogram of the Apple Watch 4 offers medical monitoring through the smartwatch. This could expand the customer segment to older generations.

In Germany, smartwatches were very popular between 2015 and 2021, with sales growth averaging 24% per year. Only between 2021 and 2022 did sales decline by 2.17% [Consumer and home electronics].