Kolkata | New Delhi: Analogue wristwatches are making a comeback with a growing number of people opting for their simplicity and classic elegance, leaving behind the digital distractions of smartwatches.
Tech entrepreneur Madhav Sheth, who introduced Chinese smartphone brands Realme and Honor in the Indian market, has stopped using his smartwatch and returned to an analogue timepiece. The smartwatch would worsen anxiety levels with regular email notifications, which meant taking immediate action, besides constant tracking of health vitals such as pulse rate, according to Sheth.
Abhishek Ganguly, former managing director of Puma India, who is building his own sportswear company Agilitas, is giving up on his smartwatch to return to analogue-he uses a fitness band for his workouts only. “Analogue watch adds to my wardrobe,” he said.
Sandeep Kelvadi, an entrepreneur in digital marketing, posted on X last week that he has switched off all notifications on his smartwatch, using it only during a swim or walk, opting for an analogue wristwatch rest of the time.
An increasing number of Indian consumers who were rushing to buy smartwatches in the past few years are returning to analogue wristwatches to avoid invasive technologies with constant monitoring and notifications concerning workplace mails, chats, blood pressure, oxygen saturation or pulse rates.
India’s smartwatch industry is in the midst of a downturn with total shipments falling 45% on-year in September quarter.
Decline Began in Jan
Shipments of premium and advanced smartwatches also dropped by 40%, as per market researcher IDC India.
The decline began in January this year and the researcher predicts the market to stay flat or record a marginal decline in 2025.
Tata Group’s Titan Company, which sells both analogue wristwatches and smartwatches, reported two straight quarters of decline in smartwatch sales. Sales rose by a modest 3% year-on-year in the March quarter but fell by 6% and 13% in the June and September quarters, respectively. This marks a sharp reversal for the business which was growing by as much as 131% in the preceding three quarters.
Titan’s analogue wristwatch sales, in contrast, grew at a robust pace of up to 26% in the first nine months of calendar 2024. The contribution of smartwatches to the company’s total watch and wearable sales fell to 12% in the September quarter from 17% a year earlier.
“We are pressing the button on analogue watches more and more, across prices. For the analogue, particularly the premium analogue, we’re pushing the boundaries of prices-say even Rs 1 lakh or 2 lakh,” said CK Venkataraman, managing director of Titan. Venkataraman himself is “not a big user of the smartwatch”, as according to him, he is bothered with repeated email notifications on his wrist.
US watchmaking giant Timex Group India reported record quarterly revenue of Rs 172 crore in the September quarter, growing 37% y-o-y. The company said luxury watch sales in India grew 63%, indicating rising demand for premium timepieces in India. Brands like Timex, Guess, Versace, Philipp Plein and Nautica were among the major contributors to the sales surge.
Sheth said the Indian smartwatch industry has been impacted by a flood of cheap, poor quality smartwatches by many brands to make quick profits. “The health data was usually not correct, and the overall experience was poor. It also led to an increase in anxiety levels. So consumers are shifting back to analogue,” he said.
While more Indian consumers are giving up their smartwatches in favour of analogue timepieces, a complete disconnect with smartphones appears a long time away. A latest study by mobile phone maker Vivo shows Indians, both adults and children, are spending more than two months every year on their smartphones going by the number of hours they spend daily. The study said concern over excessive and unhealthy smartphone usage has prompted six in 10 parents and children to explore solutions like limiting screen time and turning off notifications.
