At the Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair and the Salon de TIME held in September last year, 579 buyers and 311 exhibitors were surveyed to keep track of the latest views on current and future market prospects. In general, both buyers and exhibitors are optimistic regarding their sales in the longer run.
Emerging Markets Blossoming
Both buyers and exhibitors anticipated positive business opportunities being generated by growing demand from new markets (44% of all respondents in 2024, compared to 30% in the 2023 survey). In particular, the Middle East, India and ASEAN were considered the most promising markets.
The thriving “e‑tailing” trend is expected to be another key driver for businesses in the near future, with nearly 40% of respondents identifying the online market as a top source of business leads.
Meanwhile, around 32% of respondents expected the recovery of consumers’ spending power to boost sales. It is also noteworthy that a quarter of industry players said they expected to enjoy price advantages over their competitors.
Smart Watches Leading the Way
The smart watch trend is expected to become more prevalent in 2025. Last year, 40% of respondents envisioned smart watches continuing to be the most popular product category in the market, a significant rise from the 26% who said the same in the previous year survey. Demand for mechanical, i.e hand‑winding, watches and automatic (self‑winding) watches is anticipated to slacken in the coming year, with only 15% and 12% of respondents expecting these segments to be the most popular, respectively. There will be something of a shift towards quartz (17%) and digital analogue timepieces (13%).
In terms of product segment, smart watches (42%, rose from 32% in 2023 survey) maintained its leading position as the one with the biggest growth potential, followed by fashion watches (grew from 34% to 37%) and leisure type watches (dropped from 23% to 19%).
Explore Full Survey Findings
Access detailed insights, including respondent profiles, via:
Ticking Over Nicely: The HKTDC Watches and Clocks Survey 2024
E-tailing remains a major focus for the watch and clock industry. Visit our e-Marketplace to discover more:
