PHOTO PRINTING AND MERCHANDISE MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Market Dynamics- Drivers

Increasing number of smartphone users worldwide is expected to drive growth of the global photo printing and merchandise market during the forecast period. Rising adoption of smartphones in emerging economies such as India, Indonesia, China, and Brazil has led to increased internet penetration and popularity of social networking. Mobile manufacturers are offering smartphones with high-resolution cameras, in order to cater to requirements from modern photography. These images capturing devices majorly serve for spontaneous snapshots. Furthermore, rising trend of e-banking, mobile shopping, and bring your own device (BOYD) is boosting the demand for smartphones worldwide. According to Coherent Market Insights’ analysis, smartphone shipments across the globe increased from 1.1 billion units in 2013 to 1.2 billion units in 2014. Of the overall shipments, 45% were smartphones units shipped to China in 2014.

Enhanced broadband infrastructure is expected to propel the global photo printing and merchandise market growth over the forecast period. Enhancements and technological developments in broadband infrastructure have led to significant improvement in broadband speed. Furthermore, increasing internet penetration and affordability of these services is expected to increase the consumption of media content via various devices.

Market Opportunities

Growing focus of manufacturers on photo printing kiosk can present lucrative growth opportunities. Many manufacturers are focused on introducing photo printing kiosks with improved connectivity features. For instance, in March 2012, Fujifilm Group introduced SmartPix photo kiosks with NFC (Near-field communication) capabilities that enable customers to print digital photos instantly. This product was introduced primarily for the market in the U.K. and was launched across supermarkets, pharmacies, camera shops, and other retail outlets.

Increasing emphasis of e-commerce companies on online photo printing services can provide major business opportunities. A number of e-commerce companies are focused on offering online photo printing services, in order to expand their consumer base. For instance, in 2016, Amazon.com Inc. announced plans to introduce ‘Amazon Prints’, which is an online photo printing service, that enables customers to print digital photos, order photo books, and stationery products in order to enhance its product portfolio and customer base.

Market Dynamics- Restraints

Declining roll film market is expected to restrain growth of the global photo printing and merchandise market during the forecast period. Since digital films have entered the market, the global roll film market has been on a rapid decline. Consumers are increasingly preferring digital images over physical photos.

Low quality and high cost of dye-sub printing is expected to hinder the global photo printing and merchandise market growth over the forecast period. Dye sublimation photo printers adopt thermal printing technique, in order to diffuse dye onto the paper and used for high quality and instant photos. These devices and photo printing services are comparatively expensive than conventional inkjet printers and thus are primarily used for photo printing. Furthermore, inkjet printers offer poor print quality, which in turn, is expected to hinder the market growth over the forecast period.