Researchers said that watches may be falling out of fashion with people preferring to use a mobile phone or computer now to keep the time.
The trend is up from 18 per cent just a year ago, suggesting that the clock is ticking rather rapidly, the 'Daily Mail' reported.
Among people aged under 35, the proportion relying on digital devices for time-keeping is even higher, at four in ten.
Market analysts Mintel, which conducted the research, said the trend is expected to continue in line with rising ownership of mobile phones, with 93 per cent now owning a handset.
"As mobile phones allow consumers to do lots of things, watches need to become more technical and have multiple functions as well as telling the time, such as GPS, temperature gauge, etc," the report said.
"For example, Seiko has developed a GPS solar watch that can identify the time zone, date and time using the global network of GPS signals," it said.
Researchers who surveyed 1,522 adults, also found that in an office setting using a watch to tell the time is seen as looking more professional, while taking out a mobile phone in a meeting was viewed as time wasting.