Garmin, the leading GPS smartwatch manufacturer, has allocated a hefty marketing budget to shift the target market from athletes to wellness enthusiasts, aiming to achieve double-digit growth in Thailand.
The company wants to increase its market share against Apple and Samsung.
According to research firm Canalys, the smartwatch sector globally is poised for a rebound in 2024, projected to ship 83 million units, up 17% from 2023. The market declined 9% in 2022.
Users now seek enhanced functionality, especially those who purchased devices during the pandemic, according to Canalys.
The smartwatch industry is increasingly pivoting towards offering more sophisticated, AI-driven services. These include customised recommendations, personalised fitness regimes and comprehensive performance analytics, all powered by AI.
"We aim for double-digit growth as we see demand from health-conscious users and the company has a portfolio of price bands to capture a variety of users," said Missy Yang, country manager of Garmin Thailand.
Ms Yang said Garmin is investing in Thailand because it is considered a high-potential market, where the company opened an office in 2011 and continues to provide local services.
Despite economic challenges last year, Garmin has proven its popularity by recording record-high revenue in the first quarter of 2024, when revenue reached US$1.38 billion or 49.6 billion baht. That marked a growth of 20%, while Thailand's revenue saw growth of 25%.
In addition to driving higher revenue, it has observed a more than 39% increase in customers' activities on the Garmin Connect app since the beginning of this year.
The top five activities for Thais are running, strength training, walking, cycling and road biking. During the hot season, users switched to indoor activities such as yoga and indoor running.
"Most recently, Garmin smartwatch has already obtained the medical device licence approved by the Food and Drug Administration for its electrocardiogram app which will be launched by the third quarter this year," Ms Yang added.
Hunsa Apanukul, marketing team lead of Garmin Thailand, said its product portfolio is categorised into wellness, outdoor and speciality.
During the past two years, outdoor products have proven the most popular. It has attracted 48% of Thai customers. Speciality products accounted for 32% of its customer base, and wellness accounted for 20%.
"We have decided to focus on the wellness market this year as it has more products in this range of 5,000-20,000 baht," Ms Hunsa added.