According to IDC, Vietnam’s smartwatch market is growing rapidly, with a projected CAGR of 15–18 percent in 2023-2030, driven by increasing demand for health, fitness, and active lifestyle devices.

This strong progress not only reflects remarkable business growth but also indicates a clear shift in Vietnamese consumers’ smartwatch usage habits: from mere tech devices to essential components of an active lifestyle, supporting fitness goals, enhancing quality of life, and enabling personalized, scientific health monitoring.

The Vietnamese smartwatch market is divided into three segments: popular (priced at below VND5 million), mid-range (VND5–10 million), and premium (over VND10 million). The premium segment, catering to users focused on sports, health, and lifestyle, shows the strongest long-term growth potential, as these consumers prioritize data quality and brand reliability over price.

A Cimigo survey of high-income users has found three key criteria they follow when choosing to buy smartwatches: health tracking features heart rate, SpO2, sleep monitoring), advanced fitness support (GPS, pace, calorie tracking), and smart features (calls, payments, notifications). This group is less price-sensitive but highly values brand reputation and accurate data for fitness and health improvement.

Additionally, there’s a growing trend of integrating smartwatch data with digital healthcare platforms. For example, a Taiwan study using wearables to monitor panic disorder patients showed a relapse rate reduced to about 5 percent through heart rate, sleep, and activity data analysis, highlighting smartwatches’ role as health management tools, not just a technological device.

In 2024, Garmin led the smartwatch market by value with a 32 percent share, according to IDC, with its user base growing 50 percent year-on-year to over 480,000, the fastest growth in the Asia-Pacific region. This success stemmed from Garmin’s focus on diverse products and ecosystems tailored to varied user needs.

With Vietnam’s impressive economic growth, tech brands remain confident that the country is a strong market for premium product lines. Garmin has been launching new smartwatch models in recent years, considering the high annual growth rates as a prerequisite for the brand to launch new product lines here while continuing to establish new retail stores in major cities.

Du Lam