PMA Data Watch: A look at camera sales and digital print volumes in March

According to NPD Group Inc., digital camera sales were up about 2 percent in March compared to the same month last year. This was an improvement over March 2009 when digital camera sales were down 20 percent. Year-to-date sales in March of this year were down 7 percent whereas they were down 9 percent in March 2009.

Resolutions of digital cameras continue to improve, even just compared to last year. Fifty-five percent of cameras sold in March 2009 were 10 megapixels or more. By March 2010, 92 percent were 10 megapixels or more in resolution. As digital camera sales have softened, digital print volumes are also being affected by the weak economy. There are definite signs of a slow down, according to PMA Marketing Research, as overall printing declined in March 2010. Retail printing, however, did experience some growth.

Overall printing volumes were down 2 percent in March 2010 compared to being down 1 percent in the same month last year. Online ordering activity fell 14 percent this year, compared to a growth rate of 8 percent last March. Printing volumes at retail minilabs grew 5 percent; printing volumes on kiosks grew 18 percent in March 2010. In March 2009, printing volumes at retail minilabs and kiosks grew at a much slower rate of just 1 percent and fell 8 percent, respectively. Printing at home was down 3 percent this March, as opposed to being down 7 percent last March. Other methods of printing, such as printing at the workplace, appear to be on the decline. There was a 15 percent decline in these methods in March 2010.