Weymouth, MA—Based on its just-released U.S. Consumer Photo Merchandise Market Forecast: 2010-2015, InfoTrends projects the photo merchandise market “will grow substantially over the forecast period, reaching $2.2 billion in revenues by 2015.”
The research firm sees photo books as the major contributor to overall revenue, with that segment experiencing the largest growth numbers. Increasing penetration into the mass market through marketing and promotional efforts will be key to driving photo merchandise growth over the next few years.
“Attracting more first-time buyers into the photo merchandise market will be essential to success. InfoTrends consumer research data shows that, in 2010, only 32% of survey respondents had purchased any type of photo merchandise in the past year,” said David Haueter, an associate director at InfoTrends. “This was an increase over 2009 numbers (25%), but there is still nearly 70% of the population that have not purchased photo merchandise in the last year.”
For vendors to be successful, he added, they must have attractive and competitive photo merchandise product offerings. They also must have marketing efforts in place that clearly show the benefits of these products to their customers. Creative photo printing retailers must also constantly look ahead to determine what products their customers will want or what types of new design or product features will appeal to them.
Photo products providers should also consider how to improve the workflow process that is involved with the creation and ordering of photo merchandise items to make it simpler for their customers.
“There are challenges involved in being successful in this market, but InfoTrends has a very positive outlook on the long-term health and growth of this market, as it gives consumers a creative outlet for doing things with their photos,” Haueter continued. “This makes photo merchandise very appealing to photographers of all ages and skill levels.
InfoTrends’ U.S. Consumer Photo Merchandise Market Forecast: 2010-2015 covers photo merchandise in terms of units, revenues and impressions for the following product categories: photo books; photo greeting cards; photo calendars; and specialty photo items, which include enlargements greater than 8×10-inches, posters , framed photo prints , photo collages , and fine art photo prints on canvas. infotrends.com
