Weymouth, MA—The photo output market will see notable changes in the next few years, as vendors seek to capitalize on increased photo-sharing through social networking sites like Facebook and Pinterest, and smartphones continue to increase in use as everyday cameras, according to InfoTrends.
InfoTrends’ 2012 U.S. Photo Kiosk and Digital Minilab Forecast: 2011-2016 considers how these changes will affect current and future purchasing behaviors of retail photofinishers and print service providers. The research firm believes cameraphones and smartphones are replacing traditional digital cameras for everyday usage, estimating that more than 90% of consumers with a mobile phone carry it with them most of the time and that smartphones will account for 61% of all cameraphone shipments worldwide in 2012. As a result, the ability to get the rapidly increasing number of cameraphone images out of the devices and to a kiosk will be critical for photo merchandise providers.
“Retail photofinishers and print service providers should stay ahead of this transition by offering options to easily transfer photos from a mobile device to a retail kiosk,” said David Haueter, associate director of InfoTrends’ Photo Printing and Photo Merchandise Trends services. “Since many consumers also store their photos on social networking sites, such as Facebook, photo kiosk manufacturers should include the ability to transfer photos directly from these sites to a kiosk for convenient photo printing,” added Haueter.
Despite the changing dynamics, InfoTrends continues to see opportunities in the photo merchandise market. Many of the photo products, including photo books, cards, and calendars, are ordered on kiosks or produced on digital minilabs, so personalized photo merchandise must be the focus of any photofinishing retailer or vendor.
The most successful photofinishing retailers, the company believes, will have a strong line of these products as well as the equipment that produces them with high quality and at a cost that allows for a worthwhile profit margin. infotrends.com
