PMA Data Watch: A look at camera sales and digital print volumes in September
According to NPD Group Inc., digital camera sales were down 9 percent in September 2009 compared to the same month last year. Digital camera sales were down about 17 percent in August 2009 compared to the prior year, as well. Year-to-date sales in September of this year were down 13 percent whereas they were up 4 percent in September 2008.
Resolutions of digital cameras are continuously improving, even just compared to last year. Eighty-seven percent of cameras sold in September 2009 were 10 megapixels or more. Only 8 percent of cameras sold were fewer than 8 megapixels. Looking back to September 2008, only 30 percent of cameras sold were 10 megapixels or more and 22 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 July 2009 when compared to previous years.
Overall printing volumes were down 2 percent in September 2009 compared to being up 17 percent in the same month last year. Online ordering activity, the fastest growing method of printing, fell 5 percent, compared to a growth rate of 37 percent in 2008. Printing volumes at retail minilabs fell at a rate of 2 percent; printing volumes on kiosks grew by 6 percent in September 2009. In September 2008, printing volumes at retail minilabs and kiosks grew at much higher rates of 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Printing at home was down 4 percent this September, as opposed to being up 5 percent last July. Other methods of printing, such as printing at the workplace, appear to be on the rise. Growth was 23 percent in September 2009.
PMA Data Watch: Photo book specials for the upcoming holiday season
Photo books specials have become increasingly popular in the past couple of years with the market value increasing from $165 million in 2006 to a projected $340 million by the end of this year, according to the 2009 PMA Photo Book Report. Sales of photo books are particularly important in the fourth quarter when retailers are looking to boost their revenue. The profit on the average $30 book is equivalent to that of 250 standard prints, which is more than the typical consumer would make. The holidays are a time to attract repeat customers to photo books, as well as, to capture new ones. Photo books are still an affordable gift option relative to other items, even in a weak economy.
The enticing promotional offers of many online photo firms and retailers make it even easier to get a reasonable priced gift this holiday season. The special offers mentioned below are just a peek at what is available currently. See individual sites for details and more promotional offers including shipping discounts.
KodakEasyShare Gallery is currently offering a coupon code for 25 percent off photo books purchases of $50 or more. Snapfish and Shutterfly are offering a 20 percent discount on all photo book purchases. York is advertising a buy-one-get-one half off sale on photo books. For a limited time, Picaboo is giving customers an extra copy of the book they purchase for free.
Different offers are likely to be available as the holiday season progresses. Full reports on online print pricing and photo publishing products will be available in January.
PMA Data Watch: DSLR owners most likely to purchase photo-quality printers
Ten percent of U.S. households purchased photo-quality printers in 2008, up from 9.5 percent in 2007, according to the 2009 PMA U.S. Consumer Photo Buying Report. The price of photo-quality printers dropped in 2008 when compared to the previous year. Higher income households, however, were still most likely to purchase the printers. Ten percent of photo-quality printers came with a digital camera purchase.
Households owning DSLR cameras were most likely to purchase the printers. Eighteen percent of DSLR owners purchased photo-quality printers in 2008, compared to 14 percent of households owning digital cameras. Twelve percent of households owning any type of camera purchased a home printer in 2008.
While 14 percent of digital camera owners purchased photo-quality printers, only 4 percent of non-digital cameras did the same. In addition, 14 percent of camera phone owners purchased photo-quality printers in 2008 and 7 percent of non-camera phone owners purchased them.
PMA Data Watch: Activity of digital camera owners
According to the 2009 PMA U.S. Consumer Photo Buying Report, 73 percent of U.S. households own digital cameras. Not surprisingly, the percentage of households that still own film cameras continues to fall with the prevalence of digital cameras. In 2005, 72 percent of digital camera owners still had film cameras, but this dropped to 46 percent in 2008.
The percent of U.S. households with broadband internet was 77 percent in 2008, an increase from 57 percent in 2005. Dial-up internet households dropped from 33 percent in 2005 to just 11 percent in 2008. The percentage of households without any internet access has increased over the past few years, however, from 8 percent in 2005 to 12 percent in 2008.
The percentage of households that purchased film or one-time-use cameras dropped from 56 percent in 2005 to 31 percent in 2008. Those processing film or one-time-use cameras dropped even more in the past few years. Only 25 percent of digital camera owners processed film in 2008 compared to 62 percent back in 2005. As digital cameras grew in pouplarity, camcorder ownership has remained steady. Thirty-four percent of digital camera owners owned camcorders in 2005 and 36 percent owned them in 2008. In 2006, however, camcorder ownership was at 46 percent among digital camera owners.
PMA Data Watch: U.S. households make photo books for family keepsakes
According to the 2009 PMA U.S. Consumer Photo Buying Report, more than two-thirds (69 percent) of U.S. households that made photo books in 2008 made them as family keepsakes. Thirty-seven percent of households made them for the purpose of showing photos to others. Twenty-three percent made them as gifts for family members and 8 percent made them as gifts for friends. Photo books are an affordable gift in relation to other gift options and are more personal. Some households cited other reasons for making photo books, as well.
The majority of photo books households (65 percent) declared that making photo books did not change the number of standard 4-by-6 inch prints they make. Twenty percent of households actually increased the number of print orders they made as a result of making photo books and only 7 percent decreased print orders. Eight percent of photo book households did not make any prints at all in 2008.
Interestingly, the majority of photo books made in 2008 were 4-by-6 inch or 5-by-7 inch paperback mini books. Twenty-seven percent of books made were of this sort. Twenty-three percent were higher quality 8-by-8 inch or 8-by-11 inch hard cover books. The other half of photo books were made up of custom cover, leather cover or larger books.
