Maturing Digital Camera Market Expected to Show Growth in New Worldwide Regions
According to a new study from InfoTrends, the worldwide digital camera market continues to demonstrate a strong year-over-year unit growth rate. 2006 sales are expected to reach nearly 89 million units, representing a 15% increase over 2005.
Even though worldwide unit and revenue figures are on the rise, shipments are expected to peak soon in North America and Western Europe. Growth in the Asia-Pacific region, Eastern Europe, and Latin America will offset these declines and continue to drive growth through 2010. In fact, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to become the leading region for digital cameras by the end of the forecast period.
The maturation of the Japanese, North American, and Western European digital camera markets will likely set off a chain reaction of other trends, such as an industry vendor shakeout, an increased number of repeat buyers, and the practice of designing and marketing digital cameras for late adopters. Lower camera profit margins will prompt many digital camera vendors to seek monetary opportunities after the point of capture, sparking additional interest in viewing, editing, sharing, preservation, and printing.
"Over the next five years, the digital camera market will present significant challenges and opportunities to vendors," commented Ed Lee, a Director at InfoTrends. "To succeed in the coming years, manufacturers will need to find a way to manage maturing markets, create a strong brand image in developing countries, and focus on replacement markets."
InfoTrends' new forecast report entitled Worldwide Consumer Digital Camera Forecast Summary: 2005-2010 provides a top-line, five-year forecast for North America, the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region, Japan, the Asia-Pacific region, and Latin America. It includes a detailed analysis of worldwide market trends as well as digital camera vendors' strategies. It also covers market shares for companies such as Canon, Fuji, HP, Kodak, Nikon, and Olympus.
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