(Yicai) June 11 -- China’s wrist-worn device market, which includes smartwatches and fitness bands, soared 38 percent in the first quarter from the same period last year, far outpacing global growth, thanks to the government’s consumer goods trade-in program, according to the latest research.

Sales of wrist-worn devices soared 38 percent in the three months ended March 31 from a year earlier to 17.6 million units, according to a report released by US market research firm IDC today. Of this, smartwatch shipments surged 25 percent to 11.4 million units while that of fitness bands soared 68 percent to 6.2 million units.

The Chinese government expanded its trade-in subsidy program for consumer goods earlier this year to cover digital devices like smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and fitness bands. Consumers can get up to 15 percent off the price of each item up to a maximum of CNY500 (USD70).

The scheme may help boost sales growth in China’s wrist-worn device sector by 37 percent this year from last year to 58.5 million units, Massachusetts-based IDC said. And the market could keep growing at a compound annual rate of 8.5 percent over the next five years.

Strong domestic demand for wrist-worn devices has helped Chinese brands Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi Corp. claim the top two spots globally. Shenzhen-based Huawei’s shipments jumped 42 percent in the first three months year on year to 10 million units, seizing 22 percent of the global market while Beijing-headquartered Xiaomi’s sales soared 43 percent to 8.7 million units shipped, grabbing a 19 percent share.

The US’ Apple, South Korea’s Samsung and the US’ Garmin rounded out the top five. Apple shipped 7 million units, Samsung 3.4 million and Garmin 2.1 million.

Global shipments of wrist-worn devices jumped 10.5 percent in the first quarter to 45.6 million units, according to the IDC. Smartwatch shipments climbed 4.8 percent to 34.8 million units, while fitness band shipments surged 34 percent to 10.8 million units.

Editor: Kim Taylor