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(Weymouth, MA) May, 21 2002... A new study from InfoTrends Research Group shows that in 2002, low end digital camera unit sales are expected to reach 9.5 million units in North America. The five-year forecast for low end digital cameras shows that unit sales are expected to grow at a compound annual grow rate of 15% to 18.7 million units in 2007. Revenue is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 3% to $3.6 billion in 2007. "The consumer digital camera market in North America will maintain steady growth through the forecast period and surpass film camera sales, because many consumers are expected to purchase a new digital camera rather than replace a film camera," says Michelle Slaughter, market research analyst. "Consumers desire the ability to instantly view and share their photos - a key benefit of digital camera ownership. Additionally, within the forecast period, consumers will begin to utilize the variety of high-quality digital photo printing products and services available to them, which is expected to encourage even more mainstream consumers to adopt digital cameras." InfoTrends' 2002 Low End Digital Camera Forecast, North America presents pixel and price segment trends, design and feature trends, impact on the film camera market and vendor market share information. In 2002, the average price of digital cameras is expected to decrease 11% from $378 in 2001 to $336. Key factors that are expected to influence the average price over the forecast period include mass market adoption, reduced manufacturing costs, and availability of lower cost components. Lower cost components, such as CMOS image sensors and LCD image displays, are critical to achieving higher performance at lower price points. During the forecast period, more manufacturers are expected to implement high resolution CMOS image sensors. Based on total unit sales in 2001, Sony remained the market leader, and Olympus remained the second place vendor. HP and Kodak share the third place position. In 2002, more digital camera vendors are attempting to challenge the first-tier vendors. Digital camera vendors, including Canon, Minolta, Nikon and others are extending their product lines and increasing their promotion of digital cameras. |
