While attempting to find reliable sales information, I ran across these two
articles from Photo Marketing Association International. It is from their
newsletters. Maybe the reason so many people can't work their cameras, and/or
are not happy with the results is the fact that 400f cameras are purchased
as gifts! My apology for the longish post, but it touches on several topics
we've been discussing...
George S.
Sales of digital cameras rose 83 percent in October
Bloomberg News reported sales of digital cameras rose 83 percent in the four
weeks ended Oct. 27, while sales of film continued to decline. The average
sale price fell 29 percent from the year-earlier period, compared with a 19
percent price drop in September, the report said, citing NPD Intelect.
Eastman Kodak Co. bumped Hewlett-Packard Co. from the No. 3 spot in the share
of digital camera sales.
Kodak's share of digital camera sales in the United States totaled 12
percent. Sony Corp. had 22 percent and Olympus Optical Co. had 13 percent.
Hewlett-Packard was fourth, with 11 percent, and Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd. was
fifth, with 8.6 percent.
Kodak's film sales fell 19 percent in the four weeks ended Nov. 4 and it
lost market share to Fuji and private-label brands, according to Information
Resources Inc. While industry-wide sales fell 11 percent, Fuji's rose 14
percent. The data do not include sales from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. or warehouse
stores.
Consumers place cameras under the tree
Forty percent of cameras purchased last year were gifts
With the winter holidays almost here, many consumers are thinking of camera
purchases for their loved ones. And retailers hopefully are reaping the
benefit of this holiday spirit. Gift purchases make up a significant portion
of total camera purchases, and December camera sales are higher than those of
any other month. According to the 2001 PMA U.S. Consumer Photo Buying Report,
available from the PMA Marketing Research Department or on the PMA website at
<A HREF="http://www.pmai.org/";>www.pmai.org</A>, 40.3 percent of total still
cameras sold in 2000 were purchased
as gifts.
The greatest share of gift cameras purchased is 35mm point-and-shoot
cameras, holding more than 40.0 percent of unit share in 2000. Digital still
cameras hold another 20.9 percent of gift camera unit share. Forty-five
percent of all 35mm point-and-shoot cameras were purchased as gifts in 2000,
compared to approximately 31.0 percent each for APS and digital cameras.
The preference for 35mm may be related to price. Consumers spend less
on gift cameras than they do on cameras for themselves, and 35mm cameras tend
to be less expensive than APS and digital cameras. Even comparing only 35mm
purchases, consumers spent an average of $100 on cameras for themselves and
$88 for gift cameras. Digital camera customers spent an average of $364 on
themselves, but only $268 on gift cameras.
Gift purchasers turn to discount stores more frequently than those who
purchase cameras for themselves. Forty-eight percent of gift cameras were
purchased in discount stores last year, compared to 33.0 percent of cameras
bought for oneself. Gift cameras purchased at electronics stores carry a
higher price tag than gift cameras purchased from any other type of store.
Electronics stores likely sell the greatest share of digital cameras,
however, which tend to carry a higher price tag than 35mm and APS.
Those who purchase cameras as gifts tend to be in the 35- to
54-year-old age group and have incomes of at least $50,000. Cameras are
relatively expensive purchases, which may deter young people and those in the
lower income brackets from purchasing them as gifts.
Will cameras be a hot item this holiday season? The drab economic
outlook and declining consumer confidence may leave some retailers skittish
about this year’s holiday sales; but hopefully, the holiday spirit and
excitement about digital imaging can encourage customers to open their
pocketbooks. This season, more than any other, puts them in the spending
mood. After all, 37.8 percent of digital cameras sold last year were
purchased in December.
–– By <A HREF="mailto:blongheier@xxxxxxxx";>Brian Longheier</A>
Retailers enter second digital camera season
The arrival of the fourth quarter marks a shift in digital camera buying
habits, according to the October issue of the Pixels & Profit$ newsletter
from Credit Suisse First Boston, New York, N.Y. While digital camera buyers
in the first three quarters are primarily early adopters purchasing a camera
for themselves, the mass consumer enters the market in the months leading up
to the holidays. As a result, less expensive models sell better in the fourth
quarter than they do during the rest of the year.
“Historically, as the mass consumer has shifted purchase points to the
lower end, so, too, has market share shifted away from the premium players
during this period,” states Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Gibboney Huske.
According to the newsletter, the average selling price in the fourth
quarter is 25 percent below the average during the rest of the year. It is
important for retailers to understand who their customers are during this
season, because the fourth quarter has accounted for 49 percent of unit sales
for the past three years.
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