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Wearables Grow so Fast Market Researcher’ IDC is off by 37% in 6 months
December 22, 2019
 
The wearables market is growing so fast that major market researcher, IDC is having a difficult time keeping up.  In June, they forecasted 2019 shipments of 223m and in December raised it by 37%. Their 2023 forecast went up by a whopping 37.8% to 489m as the 5-year CAGR grew from 7.9% to 12.5%
 
Table 1: 2109 -2023 Wearables Shipment, Share and CAGR

December 2019

June 2019

Source: IDC
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The growing volume of smart watch shipments resulted in the downward trend of luxury Swiss watches, which were down 13% lower Y/Y in November indicating that  this year would probably see the fewest exports in 35 years.  The rise of smartwatches has long been frustrating – if not necessarily game-changing – for leading Swiss watchmakers Richemont and Swatch. But that might now be changing, as more and more customers move away from mid-range traditional watches that lead to the pricier likes of Rolex, and toward smartwatches that cost less than $200.
Watchmakers are refocusing their efforts on marketing their high-end wares, rather than gateway products. But there’s no guarantee they’ll succeed, especially with unauthorized dealers selling their surplus inventory at large, brand-damaging discounts. 
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• UK retail sales in November missed predictions and fell for the fourth month in a row. 
• Hong Kong – the home of some of the world’s biggest luxury spenders – retail sales have been falling as protests keep stores closed and shoppers housebound, hitting luxury powerhouses like Gucci-owner Kering and LVMH.