Despite the reduced consumer spending on electronic devices, a new report by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company has predicted that the addition of advanced features such as social distancing warning alarm, body temperature monitoring, oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring and handwashing timer is bound to drive smartwatch adoption.
The report noted that the Covid-19 outbreak will lead to a Y-o-Y 9 percent decline in smartwatches shipment, resulting in a 10 percent revenue dip in 2020.
“The smartwatch segment is expected to be impacted by COVID-19 to some degree. However, factors like new entrants, selective M&As, smart COVID-19 features’ support, aggressive and competitive pricing, the emergence of new disruptive segments like kids smartwatches are likely to have a positive impact on the smartwatches industry during the recovery period after the recession in 2020,” said Manish Chaurasiya, Senior Technology Analyst at GlobalData.
Chaurasiya believes that new-age customers are becoming health conscious and preferring devices with advanced features. “With the uncertainty regarding the period of Covid-19 prevalence, self-monitoring features like SpO2 monitoring, real-time body temperature monitoring in smartwatches will help not only consumers but also healthcare professionals to track and analyze coronavirus patients between pre and post-infection,” he added.
The kids’ smartwatches segment has been buzzing in recent times, primarily owing to the preference amongst working parents to enable them to monitor their kids remotely. The segment has witnessed increased adoption due to the presence of multiple features like cellular connectivity, voice assistant, GPS, parent-child navigation and SOS button. Prominent vendors in this segment include Immo, Huawei and Vtech.