Camera & Optical Goods Retail Industry Trends

Digital Imaging Mainstream

The proliferation of technologies, product offerings and merchandising, and marketing programs has moved the digital photo industry into mainstream America, where over half of US homes have a digital camera. The challenge is to provide these consumers with affordable, reliable, easy-to-use products as the industry moves forward.

Rapid Technology Advances

Digital imaging technology continues to evolve rapidly. The megapixel (MP) rating of new digital cameras, a measure of image resolution, increases every six to 12 months. Similar to personal computers, the product life of new models is shortening and the prices of older models are being reduced significantly. The focus on new products creates sales opportunities for retailers, but also the risk of being caught with obsolete inventory.

More Product Choices

Consumers have more choices than ever in the photo industry. New entrants like Sony (which bought the camera division of Konica Minolta); Panasonic; Samsung; and Hewlett-Packard have expanded product offerings, but have also made it more difficult for consumers to decide which products to buy and how to integrate peripheral equipment. Camera brand, size and resolution, memory cards, photo editing software, storage and distribution methodology are some choices consumers have.

Declining Prices

For many years, consumers stored images on their hard drives or CDs, without printing them. With the introduction of affordable home printing equipment and the substantial price drop in photofinishing and printing services, more images are being printed. However, printed images still are only 20 to 25 percent of all digital images.

Aging Population

The aging US population isn't favorable for the photo industry. The heaviest concentration of image capture is by families of pre-school and school age children. The fastest-growing segments of the population are post-45; the primary child-rearing age group (20 to 45) is growing slower.