PMA Data Watch: Camera sales inching back upward
The PMA Monthly Printing and Camera Trends Report shows digital camera sales were up 3 percent in February 2009, compared to the same month last year. This is an improvement over the past few months where camera sales have been down compared to the previous year. Digital camera sales in February 2008, however, were up 17 percent compared to the same month in the year prior. Year-to-date sales in February of this year were still down 1 percent whereas they were up 3 percent in February 2008.
Resolutions of digital cameras purchased in February 2009 have increased compared to the previous year. Nearly half (42 percent) of units sold were 10 or more megapixels. Only 15 percent of cameras sold were fewer than 8 megapixels. Looking back to February 2008, only 12 percent of cameras sold were 10 megapixels or more and 60 percent were fewer than 8 megapixels.
As digital camera sales have softened, digital print volumes are also being affected by the weak economy. There was still some growth, but there are definite signs of a slow down, according to PMA Marketing Research. Some printing methods as well have experienced declines in February 2009 when compared to previous years.
Overall printing volumes were up 3 percent in February 2009 compared to 25 percent in the same month last year. Online ordering activity, the fastest growing method of printing, grew at a rate of 19 percent in February 2009, compared to a rate of 51 percent in 2008. Printing volumes at retail minilabs grew only 3 percent in February 2009; printing volumes on kiosks fell by 4 percent in February 2009. In February 2008, printing volumes at retail minilabs and kiosks grew at much higher rates of 20 percent and 35 percent, respectively. Printing at home was down 6 percent this February, as opposed to being up 12 percent last February. Other methods of printing, such as printing at the workplace, appear to be on the rise. Growth was 39 percent in February 2009, whereas in February 2008 other methods were down 24 percent.
PMA Data Watch: Purchasing of cameras and accessories
Thirteen percent of U.S households plan to purchase a camera in the next year, according to the 2009 PMA U.S. Camera/Camcorder Digital Imaging Survey. Of these households, 19 percent plan to purchase the camera in the next three months, 22 percent plan to purchase in the next six months and the remaining 60 percent plan to do so in the next 12 months. More than half of these purchasers are planning to buy a digital point-and-shoot model, while 26 percent are planning to purchase a DSLR, 2 percent plan to buy a film camera and 18 percent are planning a camcorder purchase. Along with camera purchases comes the need for various accessories.
Twenty-one percent of U.S. households purchased camera accessories such as bags, lenses and filters, tripods, memory cards, software and storage devices in 2008. Accessories were almost equally likely to be purchased at the time of the camera purchase as they were to be purchased separately. Fourteen percent of U.S. households purchased accessories with the camera and 13 percent purchased them separately. Of households that purchased accessories, 67 percent purchased the accessories with the camera while 63 percent purchased separately. Therefore, some purchased accessories with the camera as well as at another time.
The most commonly purchased camera accessories were memory cards, followed by camera bags, regardless of time of purchase. Of those who purchased accessories with the camera, 82 percent purchased memory cards and 52 percent purchased bags. Sixty-four percent of those who purchased accessories separately purchased memory cards and 31 percent purchased bags.
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PMA Data Watch: Custom photo product prices remain stable
PMA Marketing Research recently surveyed a variety of online photo sites tracking the latest prices and offerings to report in Newsline International on a quarterly basis. It was projected that spending on custom photo products would reach about $1.5 billion in 2008, but spending was estimated to have only reached about $1.2 billion. Spending is expected to grow by only about 1 percent in 2009. Despite a faltering economy, custom photo gifts are affordable in relation to other gift products, and retailers are certainly emphasizing this to consumers.
Greeting cards were again popular on the majority of sites as graduation and wedding season is upon us. Mother’s Day cards were also covering the sites of many retailers. Kodak Gallery features the MOM-A-THON where one million personalized cards will be given away in honor of Mother’s Day. Personalized invites and thank-you notes were also a big part of the product mix. Photo books remain at the top in terms of advertised items on the online photo sites surveyed. The variety of offerings of various photo sites continues to expand each time the sites are surveyed by PMA Marketing Research.
There was little variation in average prices of similar products this quarter compared to the beginning of the year, but there were promotional offers available. Snapfish continues to offer a 25 percent discount when duplicate photo gifts are purchased and numerous other sites had limited time specials taking place.
The average price of personalized photo calendars jumped slightly since Photobucket was removed from the list. Determining an average price for certain products has become increasingly difficult due to the wide variety of sizes and styles available. Average prices documented this quarter, however, were very similar to those in January. Sometimes changes in average prices reflect new and improved product offerings, or the addition or subtraction of a product.
There are many photo sites that were not part of the informal survey by PMA Marketing Research and new photo sites are constantly being created, so these averages do not necessarily represent the entire online custom photo gift market. Limited time sales prices were also not included in the average prices.
A more detailed report of custom product prices is available on the PMA Marketing Research website.
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PMA Data Watch: Online print prices — how do they compare?
PMA Marketing Research recently surveyed various online photo and retailer sites tracking the latest online digital print prices. Prices remained very steady this quarter compared to January. A few changes, did, however, take place.
The average price of basic 4-by-6 inch prints, based on the sites surveyed, remained at 14 cents this quarter. Just a couple of the sites lowered the price of basic prints since January, but this was not enough to have an effect on the average price. Currently there are eight sites offering standard prints below 10 cents per print.
Prices on 5-by-7-inch and 8-by-10-inch prints remained almost identical to what they were last quarter at on average of $0.89 and $2.84, respectively. One site no longer included the price, therefore dropping the price of the 8-by-10 inch print by 1 cent, on average. My Photopipe implemented a large drop in the price of the 11-by-14 inch print bringing the average down quite remarkably, from $7.20 in January to $6.86 in April. A few increases and decreases in shipping costs led to only a 2 cent decrease, on average for standard 4-by-6 inch prints.
Costco is currently the only site offering free shipping on basic prints. Photofun.com continues to hold the lowest price on standard prints, charging 5 cents per print.
Along with spring came many limited time print discounts and special offers as well. The sites were advertising free points for signing up and unlimited storage options. New at Clark Color Labs and York Photo is free and unlimited online photo storage. Kodak EasyShare Gallery continues to offer free photo storage but are changing its policy. The storage policy allows users to upload an unlimited amount of photos, however, in order to continue storing photos on the Gallery website, a purchase must be made from the Gallery at least once every 12 months. The amount of the required purchase is based on the amount of storage space the photos occupy.
A more detailed report of April online print prices is available to members only on the Marketing Research website.
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