JAKARTA, Indonesia, Aug. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Priceza Indonesia, as one of the pioneers of shopping search engines and price comparison platforms in Indonesia, reveals interesting facts about the trends shift of smartwatch users in Indonesia since the last year, compared to the first half of 2018.
Smartwatch is increasingly popular as an alternative gadget to company the use of smartphone. There are many arguments driving its popularity. The most basic reason is of course the functionality associated with the convenience offered. Smartwatch have many useful features, ranging from notifications to digital map navigation.
The presence of a smartwatch certainly has an impact on other wearable products such as a fitness tracker, which popularity has declined because its main function is now one of the features of smartwatch products.
CCS Insight Research report that fitness tracker sales fell by 23% in 2017, inversely proportional to the sales figures of smartwatch that skyrocketed in the same period. Another research institute, Statista, even projects that the growth in sales of smartwatch is almost always double every year from 2014 to the present.
This global trend also occurred in Indonesia and attracted Priceza Indonesia's attention as a price comparison platform and shopping search engine to dig deeper on the trend. The findings is between the trends in 2017 compared to the first half of 2018.
The most popular smartwatch brand
In 2017, there were no particular brands that stood out. The "Others" brand category dominates the search by contributing 78.05%. While Apple products are at 9.6%, followed by Samsung at 4.24%, and Sony at 1.79%.
The search result changed dramatically in the following year. In the first half of 2018, several brands began to gained popularity. Xiaomi became the most popular with the number of searches up to 30.56%, followed by Samsung (13.34%) and Apple (10.95%).
This change illustrates that Indonesian consumers are starting to have ideas about certain brands in the search for smartwatch. If in 2017 there were only 1 in 5 people who knew about what brand they were looking for. In mid 2018, 3 out of 5 searchers now have an overview of their brand preferences.
In particular, credit needs to be given to Xiaomi, which are able to move from 6th position in 2017 to finally outperform other brands in mid 2018. In the context of searching in Indonesia, Xiaomi is now the champion.
The most popular model
Mi Band 2 from Xiaomi consistently topped the search list in 2017 (17.39%) and even established its dominance in 2018 (34.19%).
Also in 2018, several models have significantly emerged such as Samsung Galaxy Gear (13.23%) and Apple Watch Series 2 (7.69%). Followed by several Garmin products with search contributions of around 1 - 4%.
According to Bayu Irawan, Co-Founder & Country Head, Priceza Indonesia, "Mi Band 2 is a completely different market product with most other products on the list. Both in terms of technical specifications, main functions, and most striking, of course the price."
Bayu added, "Mi Band 2 is not a smartwatch with a variety of advanced features such as Apple or Samsung products, but rather a simple device to monitor activities such as Garmin's products, but at prices that are much cheaper, which eventually attracts consumers."
Other notes, the aggregate percentage of Apple, Samsung, and Garmin products actually exceeds Mi Band 2. So it can be interpreted, that the non-budget smartwatch market actually exists in Indonesia.
Conclusion
History told that 'smartwatch' came first before cellphones. Pulsar was the first company to produce a smartwatch in 1972 and later acquired by a famous Japanese watch manufacturer, Seiko. While cellphone was introduced a year later by Motorola.
As technology develops, both are transformed by embedding the word 'smart', becoming 'smartphone' and 'smartwatch'. The smartphone industry has now succeeded in becoming an inseparable part of our everyday life. But the same thing does not (or yet) apply to smartwatch. What causes this?
One factor that is often mentioned as one of the main cause is the price that is considered too expensive. The manufacturer argues that the justification of the price is because of the features and technology offered. Although consumers often feel that the features offered tend to be excessive and overkill. Too many functions or complicated for just a small device on the wrist.
This can explain Priceza's findings about Xiaomi's dominance and its product, Mi Band 2. This market is not looking for super-sophisticated devices. Instead, just a watch product with the addition of the word 'smart', that have one or two main features (such as monitoring health activities), and most importantly: cheap. Call it 'affordable'.
It should also be noted that even the contributions of premium brands cannot be ignored. This category shows that the market that prioritizes features, technology, and high price also exist in Indonesia.
In conclusion, despite the increasing interest in smartwatch products in Indonesia, the number shift is still not too significant. Prices are still one of the main considerations of most Indonesian consumers.
About Priceza
Priceza is a shopping search engine and price comparison platform established in 2010 (in Thailand). Priceza Indonesia was established in 2013 with a total of nearly 5 million users per month.
In addition to Thailand and Indonesia, Priceza also operates in 4 (four) other Southeast Asian countries, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam. Priceza helps millions of online shoppers access information to make smart shopping decisions, and connect thousands of online stores with their buyers.
Website: www.priceza.co.id
Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180827/2221213-1
