Cell phones are slowly but surely invading the turf long dominated by digital cameras and camcorders. To be fair, it’s not the cell phones’ fault that more and more consumers are using their handsets to snap images. Consider this: according to leading Internet photo sharing site Flickr, the best-selling smartphone on the market, the iPhone, is neck-and-neck with the Canon Digital Rebel XTi as the most popular camera of users on the site.
It’s remarkable, even laughable, to think that a cameraphone could compete in popularity with a DSLR on a photo enthusiast site. What’s not laughable is that Apple sold 5.2 million iPhones last quarter alone. So if smartphones are the direction consumers are headed, what questions should you be asking and what changes should you be making?
Changes in Consumers Behavior
An ever-rising number of consumers in key age demographics are using wireless phones to capture and share still and moving images. In the 18-29 demographic, 74 percent share images on their phone, and 57 percent say they send images wirelessly from the phone. While many of these consumers may still use a traditional digital camera, certainly they no longer see it as their only imaging option. This trend will almost certainly have some near-term impact on digital imaging retailers.
CEA’s recent Sales and Forecast report (July 2009) predicts an increase in shipments of smartphones through U.S. consumer channels in 2009. CEA forecasts 2009 will outdo last year’s shipments by over two million units with an additional eight million additional units predicted to ship in 2010.
More phones are shipping with built-in imaging features. However, it may not be that consumers are seeking out cameraphones, per se. Innovation in handsets and the networks on which they operate are catapulting demand for smartphones in general, particularly as the concept of a mobile Internet becomes a reality. As it happens, most of these smartphones have digital cameras or video capability. And as the imaging quality improves, and entry-level cell phones have three- or four-megapixel cameras with digital zoom, consumers may become compelled to try it out. Before long, the convenience could make the device "good enough" as an imaging solution.
Clearly, the changes in consumer behavior are coming faster than anyone could have predicted. Although there’s little research yet to specifically substantiate the trend, it may nonetheless begin to cut into sales of traditional DI products.
So how will cameraphones affect your business model over the next few years? What might increased cameraphone use mean for specialty and photofinishing retailers? It’s time to begin preparing for the idea that, good or not, smartphones and cameraphones could be game-changers at least in the point-and-shoot segment.
Cameraphone Popularity
What exactly is it that appeals to people who shoot photos or video with their smartphones? Blame it on social networking, the rise of the mobile Web, or an increase in image quality of cameraphones. It’s probably all of the above, and more.
Consider convenience: since many people carry a phone wherever they go, it’s easier to nab candid shots or videos and have one less thing to carry. What about connectivity? The ability to instantly connect to the Web right from the device is likely another critical feature, since more consumers are sharing photos and video on social networking sites. According to a January 2009 CEA study, "Digital Imaging: A Focus on Sharing," of adults ages 18-29 who use their smartphones to take digital photos, 66 percent share photos by sending them wirelessly from their smartphone. Could digital cameras with built-in WiFi appeal on the same level to these types of customers? After all, with a WiFi connection, a digital camera can upload your customers’ pictures on Facebook or Twitter with the same speed as a cameraphone. Finally, is it ease of use that makes cameraphones so appealing? That makes sense too. They offer a Craigslist-like experience for photo and video capturing—a simple interface, few buttons and settings and good-enough image quality for most occasions.
Understanding why consumers like these products will certainly give you insight into what features of digital cameras would appeal to them. It could also help you determine which other existing in-store services would support cameraphone shooters.
Technology Is Fickle
How can traditional DI and photofinishing retailers appeal to smartphone shooters? The good news is these customers will still need the services you’ve traditionally offered, like photofinishing, print-at-home and storage solutions. You’re not likely to begin selling wireless handsets and service if you don’t already do so, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t ride on the cameraphone’s wave of popularity by generating business that caters to phone shooters. As the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them.
What steps can you make to lure those shoppers who think their cameraphone is good enough into your store? It could be anything from offering more phone accessories, promoting the need to print and back-up cameraphone photos, it could even be holding in-store learning sessions. It’s not so much how you do it, but that you’re thinking of the growing wave of cameraphone users as potential customers, not lost customers.
Steve Kidera is a senior communications coordinator for the Consumer Electronics Association.
While no one yet knows just how cameraphones will influence sales and attitudes towards traditional digital imaging products, many agree that it will make an impact. Being aware of trends, understanding this new sub-segment of consumers and developing business plans that include catering to the cameraphone crowd are important steps for staying ahead of the trend.
Steve Kidera is a senior communications coordinator for the Consumer Electronics Association.
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57% Send Images Wirelessly
An ever-rising number of consumers in key age demographics are using wireless phones to capture and share still and moving images. In the 18-29 demographic, 74% share images on their phone, and 57% say they send images wirelessly from the phone.
