Contrarian bet: Wearables brands in premium push, overseas expansion as sales deflate at home

Companies in the space such as initial public offering (IPO)-bound boAt and rivals, Noise, Fire-Boltt, and GoBoult have a contrarian fix: they are betting that a shift in focus to premium products and overseas markets will offset the slowdown and bring back the mojo.

The underlying trend that is egging these companies is a slight uptick in prices of wearables in recent months. The average selling price (ASP) for wearables rose from $20.60 to $21.70 year-on-year in Q2 2025, according to data by IDC, a research firm.

This, even as, India’s wearables market fell 11.3% YoY in calendar 2024 to 119 million units—the first annual decline for the category. See chart on how Q2 shipments stack up against last year, category by category.

Preeti Saxena, a Delhi-based consultant, illustrates the trend of the initial excitement of such gadgets wearing off on customers. Her smartwatch “stopped giving me new insight and I eventually lost interest and stopped wearing it," she said. She has returned to regular watches. Several users Mint spoke to said they haven’t upgraded their first smartwatches in four to five years, stating that beyond step counts and heart-rate tracking, little has changed to justify spending again.

“We’ve seen stagnancy in the overall wearables market…the slowdown stems from saturation in the entry-level segment, coupled with a lack of meaningful innovation and longer replacement cycles," said Varun Gupta, co-founder, GoBoult.

Unlike wireless stereo earbuds, which people tend to upgrade more frequently due to daily wear and utility, smartwatches have become more of a one-time purchase, with users holding on to them for longer periods. Longer replacement cycles, me-too products and fatigue with budget devices have taken the fizz out of the category.

GoBoult is responding to the challenge by climbing the premium ladder.

It has launched a professional Clarity series, priced from 1.3 to 1.5 times higher than its average order value of ₹1,100 in audio and ₹1,400 in smartwatches.

Big brand tie-ups

The premium push has also led GoBoult to partnerships with Ford for a Mustang-branded series, and with Dolby to launch a line of speakers tuned with the global audio major’s technology. “Each of these has helped us build credibility in the higher-end segment," said Gupta.

Buying behaviour has shifted from impulse purchases to more thoughtful, value-driven purchase decisions, he added.

The shift upmarket is now industry-wide.

“We have seen strong growth in soundbars, home theatres, party speakers, and high-end wearables like rings, GPS watches, and kids watches above ₹5,000 price points," said Gaurav Nayyar, CEO of boAt. Imagine Marketing Ltd, the parent of boAt, filed the updated draft red herring prospectus on Wednesday for its ₹1,500 crore IPO.

Noise, too, is sharpening its strategy. Global audio giant Bose chose the Gurugram-based startup for its first strategic investment in India, helping Noise enhance its premium credentials.

“At one point, there were 100-150 smartwatch brands in India. Today, only a handful remain relevant," said Gaurav Khatri, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Noise. “What has worked for us is focused R&D and a mass-premium play between $50-100 price band, where it sees repeat buyers and niche use cases."

Emerging segments

Premiumisation is already visible in emerging categories—smart rings have rebounded after an initial slump, while smart glasses are gaining traction with launches from Meta and Lenskart, and wristbands have staged a comeback on the back of Samsung’s Galaxy Fit. IDC data pegs the ASP at $134, underscoring the segment’s premium positioning.

Yet, Noise said it intends to stay focused on its core categories of smartwatches and audio, rather than branching out for now. GoBoult echoed a similar strategy, saying it does not believe in a ‘spray and pray’ approach across too many categories.

Analysts say the shift towards premiumisation is real but tricky. BoAt continues to lead in TWS (True Wireless Stereo) with a 29% share, followed by GoBoult at 17%.

“The product mix has improved, with the ₹2,000-4,000 band emerging as the mainstream [price band]. Features like Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), spatial audio, Lossless Digital Audio Codec (LDAC) and multi-device connectivity are now standard, helping lift average selling prices and stabilising revenue," said senior analyst Anshika Jain, Counterpoint Research, a market research firm specialising in technology, media, and telecom sectors.

With demand cooling online, companies are also building heft offline.

GoBoult is now present in 3,000 stores across Reliance, Croma and Vijay Sales, with an 8% share of the offline market. “Our target is 25-30%," Gupta said. In comparison, boAt has built an offline presence of over 13,000 retail outlets along with more than 40 modern and regional retail stores.

BoAt claims to be seeing growth from tier II and tier III cities, driven by faster e-commerce deliveries and the rise of quick commerce. “For urban cities, quick commerce has shown high adoption and is driving over 200% growth year-on-year across all major partners. Last-minute gifting is another need driving this growth," CEO Nayyar said.

Yet, the slowdown is also showing in the books. (chart)

Aiming for exports

Exports are now the fallback cushion. The timing is deliberate: with India slowing, companies see markets like the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the US as natural extensions—driven both by diaspora familiarity and higher willingness to pay.

GoBoult aims to achieve 20% of its sales from overseas markets within two years. It is already live in Nepal and the UK and is targeting Europe, US and Southeast Asia next. “We see growth and slowdown as cyclical. In 12-15 months, we expect a cleaner patch," Gupta said.

Noise has entered the UAE via Virgin Megastore and is preparing to expand to the UK and US through major retail outlets such as Selfridges in London and Printemps in Paris. CEO Khatri is confident of a international business potential of $10 million revenue in 18-24 months led by the UAE.

BoAt is also sharpening its focus on West Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.

Smartwatches, though, remain in free fall.

In smartwatches, Noise leads with 32% share, ahead of boAt (14%) and Fastrack (12%). “The majority of watches still fall below ₹2,000, but we’re seeing a gradual warming to premium wearables, especially in Tier I and Tier II cities," Counterpoint's Jain noted. “Overall smartwatch growth is expected to decline in 2025 as the market undergoes a correction."

Despite all these changes, India will continue to be the mainstay of the wearables market. “India will still be our largest market for the foreseeable future, given the volumes it provides," said Noise’s Khatri.