India sees 74.7% growth in truly wireless earphone market, over 20 mn units sold last year

The market for truly wireless earphones has grown exponentially over the past few years. In 2021, the Indian truly wireless earphone market witnessed a 74.7% year-over-year growth, with consumers purchasing over 20 million units. In the first half of 2021, TWS shipments tripled in comparison to 2020 due to the pandemic driven demand. In the second half of the year, festive discounts and multiple products launched led to strong adoption. 

“Affordability, availability, and appealing aesthetics are the key drivers for the TWS market as a must-have complementary device for a smartphone,” says Ekta Mittal, Market Analyst, Client Devices, IDC India. “With increased awareness, consumers will continue to migrate from wired to wireless devices and upgrade to devices with better sound experience, longer battery and comfort,” adds Mittal.

According to the market research firm IDC, Indian companies captured over 65% of the total TWS shipments in India. Boat (Imagine Marketing) emerged as the leader with two-fifth of the market. The average selling price of truly wireless earphones came down to $32.8, which roughly translates to Rs. 2,500. Nearly 90% of the models were priced below Rs. 3,700. However, consumers also expressed their interest in new players like Nothing and Google. 

Market leaders in the truly wireless stereo segment 

• Imagine Marketing, the company behind the popular brand BoAt captured 39.3% of the market with 187.9% year-over-year growth. Aggressive pricing, celebrity endorsements and partnership strategy further supported its dominance. 
• Realme comes in at second place with a 7.7% market share. The most popular devices from the company remained the Buds Air and Buds Q series. 
• Nexxbase, the company behind Noise took over Samsung to secure the third position by holding 7.5% of the market. The company grew nearly 200% from 2020. 
• Palred, the company behind pTron grabs 6.0% of the market for the fourth position. It sold some of the most affordable TWS devices available in India. 
• Samsung came in fifth but witnessed a 23.0% decline in its sales from the same time last year. It captured 4.7% of the market. 

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