PMA Data Watch: Photo publishing product prices vary slightly in July
PMA Marketing Research reviews a variety of online photo sites tracking the latest prices and other news related to the photo publishing product market and reports in Newsline International on a quarterly basis. Spending on photo publishing products was estimated to reach approximately $1.32 billion last year and is expected to grow slightly this year to $1.4 billion. Despite a weakened economy, photo publishing products are a creative, yet affordable gift relative to other gifting options and retailers continue to promote them.
The dog days of summer are here and many summer-themed products were emphasized across the sites surveyed. Greeting cards were greatly emphasized on the majority of the sites with a variety of designs and styles. Photo books remain prominent on the sites as they are an ideal way to commemorate a summer of memories. Kodak EasyShare Gallery was holding a summer sale and offering 25 percent off all photo books. Costco has now made photo books available on its own website rather than just through a partner.
Determining an average price for certain products has become increasingly difficult due to the wide variety of sizes and styles available. Sometimes changes in average prices reflect new and improved product offerings, or the addition or subtraction of a product. Average prices documented in July for photo books were relatively similar to what they were in april. Average prices for mugs, mousepads, and personalized photo calendars did not change. The average price of posters and photo canvases fluctuated a little bit. Finally, greeting card prices remained constant. Prices are listed for folded greeting cards and photo cards and there are many more options to choose from on each of the individual sites mentioned.
There are many photo sites on the market that were not part of the informal survey by PMA Marketing Research and new photo sites are constantly emerging, therefore, 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.
PMA Data Watch: Online print prices – how do they compare?
Each quarter, PMA Marketing Research surveys various online photo and retailer sites in search of print prices and the latest site updates. Print prices changed only slightly this quarter compared to April. This quarter, price increases were more likely to take place among smaller prints rather than larger ones.
The average price of a basic 4-by-6 inch print based on the sites surveyed crept up slightly to 14 cents from 13 cents in April. The average price of a basic 4-by-6 inch print, when shipping is taken into consideration, remains at 24 cents. The average print was not affected by a few increases in print prices and shipping costs. Several of the sites continue to offer standard prints for a price below 10 cents per print. The average prices of 5-by-7 inch prints and 11-by-14 inch prints fluctuated modestly while the average price of 8-by-10 inch prints remained the same as in April. Kodak EasyShare Gallery has added the 11-by-14 inch print to its selection of products. The average cost of shipping standard prints increased a bit this quarter.
Summer is in full swing and this has many sites advertising print discounts and really encouraging printing summer celebration moments. Some sites were also offering limited time discounts on prints, especially for larger quantities, without the need to sign up for any particular plan. A more detailed report of July online print prices is available to members only on the Marketing Research website.
