The report, which was compiled by market research company Juniper, stated that global hybrid watch shipments are expected to reach 80 million units by 2022 – an increase of 460 per cent when compared to this year. However, smartwatches, including Apple Watch, will increase by a more “conservative” 160 per cent.
Lead research author James Moar said the burgeoning watch category would eventually be a “50/50 split” with smartwatches.
“There is a perception among some watchmakers that smartwatches are “the next quartz movement”, and so want to be in on the act before it damages their traditional watch sales,” Moar told Jeweller. “We expect more traditional watchmakers to move into the market as this perception takes hold. Apple’s pronouncements that they are now the biggest watchmaker globally are helping stoke these fears,” he added.
The report added that while smartwatches are currently ahead in terms of global unit shipments, slower increases in sales has meant that designs by technology giants such as Motorola, Huawei and Sony has led the companies to leave the market all together.
“Apple is the biggest success in the digital display smartwatch sector, with Samsung a relatively distant second. These companies are also used to smartphone-like sales patterns, where there is a fairly constant device refresh, resulting in consistent and high shipment volumes,” Moar continued. “The watch sector does not work in that way, and now that the early adopters have their watches, vendors are not seeing repeat purchases in the volumes they would like.”
However, he added, “Fossil, having released many display [smartwatch] and hybrids throughout its portfolio is the exception here, and is forecast to ship over six million smartwatches annually by 2020.”
Last month, a study from research company International Data Corporation (IDC) showed that Apple reportedly sold more watches than the entire Swiss watch industry in the fourth quarter of 2017. As Jeweller reported, the study was a broad indicator of where the industry is heading in terms of smartwatches and wearables.
Juniper Research is a global marketing research company that advises on market intelligence, data and forecasting. It is headquartered in London, UK.
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