PRESS RELEASE: Russian Digital Imaging Market Dominated by Active Photo Hobbyists
(Weymouth, MA) April 18, 2011 . . . A recent InfoTrends survey on the European digital photography market indicates that vast differences in consumer behavior exist among the Western European and Russian markets. While the Western European market is a mature market with a diverse consumer make-up, nearly a third of the Russian market is composed of early adopters. As such, this market is extremely active in terms of nearly all areas of digital photography.
While digital camera owners in Russia take an average of nearly 150 photos every three months, consumers in Western Europe take an average of just over 90 photos every three months. In addition, consumers in Russia take nearly twice as many photos with their mobile phones as those in Western Europe.
Mette Eriksen, a Director at InfoTrends, states, “Western European digital camera owners have shown declining digital camera usage over time. It appears that the slowdown in usage is stabilizing in Western Europe, suggesting that the market has reached maturity. In contrast, the Russian digital camera market continues to be dominated by very active photo hobbyists who are interested in anything that is photo-related. This means that vendors will have to adopt different approaches to the European market. It is likely that more advanced products will gain quicker acceptance in Russia than they will do in mature Western European markets, which are dominated by mainstream consumers and late adopters.”
In addition to capturing more photos, Russian consumers save, print, edit, and share a larger percentage of the photos they take compared to Western European respondents. On average, Russian households print twice as much as Western European households. While printing at home is the most popular photo printing method among consumers in both regions, a much greater percentage of Russian respondents cited ordering photo prints over the counter at retail, indicating a notable opportunity for the photofinishing market.
The survey from which this information was obtained was conducted among Internet connected households in France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., and Russia. Survey results are segmented by country to paint a clearer picture of Europe’s digital photography market. The survey results are shown by country, a total for Western European (France, Germany, Italy and the U.K.) as well as a total for all countries surveyed (Western Europe and Russia) to highlight the differences in Europe’s digital photography markets by country and region.
InfoTrends is releasing a series of reports on the various topic areas included in the study. Topics for which reports are currently available include:
For more information or to purchase a report contact Jennie Lewis at +44 1 983 28 9794 or e-mail [email protected].
InfoTrends, a Questex company, is the leading worldwide market research and strategic consulting firm for the digital imaging and document solutions industry. We provide research, analysis, forecasts, and advice to help clients understand market trends, identify opportunities, and develop strategies to grow their businesses. Additional information about InfoTrends is available on the Web at www.infotrends.com.
(First posted on Monday, April 18, 2011 at 17:34 EDT)
