The shipment of wearable devices reached 24.71 million in China in the first quarter of 2023, down 4.1 percent from same period of last year, according to a latest report from research firm IDC. As one of the wearable devices, wrist bands saw shipments reach 2.85 million in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 8.5 percent year-on-year.

The wrist band, a lower-priced entry-level wearable product, is easier to leverage popular demand as the economy gradual recovers, IDC said.

The smartwatch shipment reached 5.9 million devices in the country in the first three months, falling 16.7 percent year-on-year, with the product for adults and children hitting 3.1 million and 2.8 million devices, down 19.5 percent and 13.3 percent year-on-year, respectively.

However, the wearable market saw a diametrically opposite trend in sales and shipments in the first quarter of this year, IDC said.

According to a sales tracking report from IDC, the sales volume of smartwatches for adults and children, as well as wrist band grew 1.8 percent, 2.2 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively, year-on-year in the first three months. The smartwatch market showed a slight recovery trend in the sales side.

IDC said the wearable market still has opportunities for growth this year, as new smartwatches will be equipped with more health-related functions, adding that the wrist wear entry-level market is picking up due to the spending willingness of low- and middle-income groups.