E-commerce giant Flipkart does not plan to unveil any wearable products under its Billion brand as of now, but will partner with large brands to expand the category of smart devices, including wearables and smart home solutions.
“Internet of Things (IoT) has two sub categories – wearable devices and home automation. While we are seeing good uptake for wearables, home automation category is at very at a nascent stage,” Flipkart Head of Private Labels and Electronics Adarsh Menon told The Hindu .
The company has partnered Google to exclusively sell online the latter’s Home and Home Mini voice-activated speakers. It has previously worked with brands such as Fossil and Guess, to launch smartwatches. It also recently partnered with FitBit.
The wearables category (fitness bands and smart watches), Mr. Menon said, has been growing at a strong pace for Flipkart and it expects to sell 2.5 million such units in the ongoing fiscal.
“Fundamentally, online share of wearables in India, is a almost 80% and Flipkart commands 50% share of this market...We plan to sell nearly 2.5 million units of wearables between April 2018 and March 2019,” he said.
He added that the e-commerce player does not plan to roll out any wearable as of now under its Billion brand and instead would sell and showcase IoT products from various brands till the market is big enough for it to enter.
“There is traction in other smart product categories also, like smart lighting, smart surveillance products and smart locks. We expect these to also grow well in the coming days,” he said.
