Summary

The European watch market is projected to register a CAGR of 1.97%, during the forecast period (2020-2025).

Key Highlights
The disposability and affordability of value watch brands make them a popular fashion choice among consumers, across the European region. The lower-priced and mid-priced watches are increasingly gaining market traction, due to increasing demand for ‘value-for-product’ watches and accessories among women.
The market will have a strong prevalence in terms of luxury watches, which is expected to have a significant market share, citing the level of tourist purchases along with a weaker pound in countries, such as the United Kingdom.
Across countries, like Germany, the demand for mid quartz analog watches is likely to be high, mostly due to shifting consumer focus toward watches that are more fashion-oriented. Brands, like Casio and Timex, are continuously investing in R&D for product innovations to blend some of the features of smart watches with the long-lasting battery life of digital watches, while offering the product in attractive design and affordable prices.


Key Market Trends

Digital Watches to Witness the Fastest Growth

One of the latest trends that is expected to gain traction in the smart watch segment is the increasing integration of haptics technology, which is a standard feature that is used for alerts and notification purposes. Furthermore, the haptics technology used in these smart watches also eliminates the need to carry a smartphone every time, as they alert the user if there are texts messages, e-mails, or calls. Major European watch manufacturers in this segment are investing in the development of new and updated versions of products, in order to attract the consumer base and remain competitive in the market.


For instance, in 2016, the Swatch Group Ltd, a Swiss watch manufacturer introduced new Swatch Bellamy watch, which came equipped with built-in Near Field Communication (NFC) wireless chip hidden under the dial. This technology allowed consumers to have contact-less payments for wearers for purchases in shops and department stores across Europe.


The government policies’ direct and indirect support for technologically-driven firms is, in turn, boosting this segment of the market studied. For instance, the European Framework Program had proposed a budget of over 50 billion to be invested in technologically innovative activities of the firms. Thus, the initiatives by the regional government are boosting the overall revenue of the watch market. Moreover, the digital watch market in Europe is likely to achieve growth rate of 4.27% during the forecast period.

Blending Adventure Sports With Smarter Wearables

The affluent society across developed countries, specifically in the European Union, is anticipated to have higher average incomes, making them capable enough to pursue recreational and outdoor activities. This is also linked with convenience culture, where the rise of “empowered consumers” are seeking out more choices within activities along with changing work patterns that facilitates them to use desired time in a flexible manner. The seeking low-risk activities among the older population is prominent, people between the age group of 40 and 70 caters to the two-third of the European outdoor activity's participation. On the other hand, this segment is also prone to health ailments and smart wearable that portrays heart rate, distances covered, among others, have a higher rate of salability among such consumers. The smart wearable markets in Europe will also be driven by the millennial segment, as a change in their living standard will also upgrade the level of commitment that novel technology offers to streamline their daily activities.

Competitive Landscape

The market is dominated by players, like Citizen Watch, Seiko Holdings Corporation, Fossil Group Inc., Casio Computer Co. Ltd, Timex Group BV, and the Swatch Group. These players are focusing on social media platforms and online distribution channels for the online marketing and branding of their products, to attract more customers. Major players, operating in the region, focus on leveraging the opportunities posed by innovation in the market, to expand their product portfolio, so that they can cater to the requirements for various product segments, especially within the category of integrated analogue and smart watch segment.

Additional Benefits:

The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
3 months of analyst support

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