A voracious appetite for mobile devices will help propel the market for smart watches to revenue of approximately $32.9 billion by 2020, according to a forecast from Allied Market Research.
The first generation of smart watches found homes on the wrists of consumers in North America. That initial surge from early adopters propelled the market to double-digit revenues, but exponential growth is expected as smart watches take root in China.
The growth of China's smartphone market is quadrupling, by some estimates, in the last two years, reports the research firm.
"Such an achievement and appetite among customers is expected to drive the Chinese market for Smart watches as well," an Allied Research spokesperson told Tech Times via email. "The growing technological inclination of the masses in China coupled with personalized benefits sought from such gadgets has made the geography a lucrative market for 'smart' devices including smart watches."
China won't be just consuming smart watches -- it's poised to lead the way in production of the wrist-worn computers as well, according to the research report. Samsung broke out to an early lead in the smart watch market, which is now composed of 40 players, but the meteoric rise of Xiaomi illustrates just how fast China can, and likely will, emerge as a dominant force in the market.
"China region offers low-cost manufacturing along with sound technical expertise," the Allied Market Research spokesperson stated. "As a matter of fact, China-based smart phone manufacturer Xiaomi, in a relatively shorter time period, joined the league of the leading smartphone players such as Apple and Samsung, with a significant portion of sales generated through the Chinese market."
As smart watches move toward standalone builds and improved battery life, the same consumer base now devouring smartphones are expected to embrace smart watches. Startups are contracting "tier 2" supply chains for the efficiency and efficacy needed to disrupt the nascent market and compete with companies that have already established themselves in the smartphone sector, state the research findings.
Tech players of all sizes are investing heavily in smart watch research and development.
"The smart watch market is going to witness an upward surge in sales. Despite the growth barriers, the smart watch market has immense potential," states Allied Research. "[That potential is] further validated by the emergence of new smart watch manufacturers."
