How Argos Sells Watches: What the data reveals

Aarathi J
May 1
5 min read

Watches are more than just timekeepers, they're fashion statements, fitness companions, and even safety tools. But what drives pricing, features, and customer satisfaction in today’s competitive watch market?

To explore this, we scraped and analyzed watch listings on Argos, one of the UK’s top multi-category retailers. Through exploratory data analysis (EDA), we uncovered trends across pricing, features, demographics, and customer reviews.

Curious how this kind of analysis could help you understand your market better? Datahut specializes in custom web scraping and analytics solutions.

Understanding the Argos Watch Landscape

Argos offers a wide selection of watches under its Jewellery & Watches section, targeting men, women, and children alike. The range caters to diverse preferences and budgets from smartwatches to classic analog styles.

Price Distribution by Category

Using violin plots, we explored how prices vary across men's, women's, and children's watches.

Men’s Watches: Broad range, with several high-priced luxury models.
Women’s Watches: Clustered around mid-to-high price points—style meets affordability.
Children’s Watches: Primarily low-cost, simple designs focused on accessibility and basic functionality.

Takeaway: Argos segments its inventory to cater to different customer personas, from style-conscious adults to tech-savvy athletes and budget-focused parents.

What Features Matter to Whom?

Smartwatches today do more than tell time, they track fitness, offer communication tools, and even support safety features. Here’s how Argos tailors functionality based on user groups:

Men’s Smartwatches: Performance & Precision

Prioritized features: chronographs, GPS tracking, heart rate monitors, and stopwatches.
Designed for fitness enthusiasts, cyclists, and outdoor adventurers.
Communication features are available (e.g., making/answering calls), but not the main focus.
Emphasizes rugged design and technical accuracy over social connectivity.
Growth opportunity: Improve social and communication features to broaden appeal.

Women’s Smartwatches: Style, Social, and Wellness

Blend connectivity (e.g., weather updates, notifications) with health monitoring.
Features include calorie tracking, heart rate monitoring, and aesthetic appeal.
Designed for everyday use, balancing fashion, fitness, and functionality.
Popular for users seeking seamless integration of wellness and social life.

Children’s Smartwatches: Simplicity & Safety First

Focus on basic functions: pedometers, alarms, distance tracking.
Emphasize affordability, ease-of-use, and parental safety tools like GPS and calling.
Ideal for younger users new to smart devices—simple, fun, and secure.

Key Feature Insights

Heart rate monitors, call features, and weather updates are heavily marketed toward women.
GPS, pedometers, and chronographs dominate men’s watch offerings.
Children’s watches focus on essential features, often lacking advanced capabilities like call or heart-rate functionality.
Adult smartwatches (men’s & women’s) are increasingly positioned as multi-purpose communication and health devices.
Each demographic reflects distinct priorities- performance, connectivity, or safety, guiding how brands design and price their offerings.

Argos' Discount Strategy

93.6% of watches are sold at regular price.
Only 6.4% of products are discounted.

Interpretation: Argos likely relies on value-based pricing rather than aggressive discounting, preserving perceived brand and product value.

Brand Positioning: High-End vs. Budget

High-Priced Brands:

Samsung, Garmin, Fossil – average sale prices between £170 and £429.
Known for smart features and/or premium design.

Low-Priced Brands:

Nickelodeon, Spy X, Citron – average sale prices between £7.5 and £11.
Target children's and low-budget markets.

Insight: Argos captures both premium and budget segments, indicating a broad customer targeting strategy.

What Do Customers Think?

Boxplot + Summary Statistics

Median rating: 4.5+
Average rating: 4.47
Majority of reviews fall between 4–5 stars
A few outliers show dissatisfaction

Top-Rated Brands: Seksy, Guess, Jacques Du Manoir, Gabby’s Dollhouse (5.0 ratings)

Conclusion: Overall high satisfaction, with a few exceptions, signaling strong product-market fit in most cases.

Product Variety & Brand Dominance

Sekonda: 101 products (dominates Argos’ catalog)
Casio: 70 products
Citizen, Reflex Active, Lorus: offer mid-tier options

Observation: Argos partners with brands across the spectrum—from entry-level to premium, ensuring diverse inventory coverage.

Functional Attributes and Their Impact on Pricing

One of the most revealing aspects of this analysis is how specific functional attributes like water resistance, bezel type, power source, and strap material, correlate with watch pricing. These features not only affect product value but also speak volumes about the intended use case and target customer.

Water Resistance: The Deeper the Watch, the Higher the Price

There’s a clear trend: as water resistance increases, so does the average price. Basic splash-proof watches are the most affordable, ideal for light use like rain or handwashing. As we move up the scale to 50m, 100m, and beyond, watches become more suitable for swimming, snorkeling, and professional diving—demanding stronger materials and advanced engineering. At the top end, diving-standard watches command premium prices and reflect serious performance.

Bezel Type: More Than Just a Design Element

Bezel type also plays a major role in pricing. Watches with rotating bezels—commonly found in diving and tactical watches—have the highest average prices. These bezels serve functional purposes like tracking elapsed time. In contrast, fixed bezels are generally aesthetic and fall into the mid-range, while watches with no bezel tend to be minimalist, entry-level products with lower price points.

Power Type: What’s Inside Matters

The mechanism powering a watch significantly affects its cost. Mechanical watches are the most expensive, often handcrafted and appreciated for their complexity and luxury appeal. Kinetic and solar-powered watches follow, combining advanced features with self-charging capability, perfect for tech-forward or eco-conscious users. Battery-powered watches are the most affordable, dominating the mass-market and children’s segments where affordability and simplicity matter most.

Strap Material: Comfort, Style, and Price

Strap materials aren’t just about aesthetics—they’re closely tied to pricing and brand positioning. Titanium and gold-plated straps top the pricing chart, associated with durability, prestige, and luxury. Stainless steel offers a premium feel without going ultra-luxury. Meanwhile, leather and polyurethane provide a mid-range option balancing comfort and cost. Plastic, rubber, and faux leather straps are the most affordable, often used in kids’ watches or sporty, casual designs.

The Bigger Picture for Retailers and Brands

These patterns show that price is rarely arbitrary, it’s shaped by the functional value, design complexity, and perceived lifestyle use of each watch. For product strategists and category managers, these insights can guide:

Smarter pricing models based on feature sets
Clearer product tiering for budget, mid-range, and premium shoppers
Better alignment between product design and customer needs

In short, understanding the “why” behind pricing can help retailers like Argos build more competitive and consumer-friendly assortments.

Conclusion: What This Means for Retailers & Brands

EDA reveals how data can tell a compelling story. From feature preferences to brand segmentation and customer sentiment, the insights in Argos’ watch inventory can inform smarter decisions in:

Pricing strategy
Product development
Inventory planning
Market targeting

Want Insights Like These?

Datahut can help you unlock hidden trends in your online catalog or even your competitor’s. Contact us for custom web scraping and data analysis services tailored to your industry.