Specialists are best dressed with accessories: report

As previously reported by PIN Online, the newly-released PMA/PICA 2010 Consumer Imaging in Australia research report has revealed that touch-screen smart phones are the “biggest challenge” to the traditional shoot-and-print camera sector.

At the same time, the report highlights a number of areas that present significant growth opportunities for specialty retailers.

With more 8-by-10 inch prints made on home printers than through retail or online businesses, large-format photo printing demand and its most likely source - photo enthusiasts - remain largely unexploited by specialty photo businesses, the report said.

Also, while consumers expect to find the lowest prices on cameras at discount stores and on the internet, they do expect specialty retail stores to offer competitive prices on camera-accessory bundles.

About 15% of Australian digital camera owners purchased a bundle (accessories + camera at the same time) in the past 12 months.

This is a small segment for discount stores but a large segment for specialty dealers. Specialty dealers can benefit by advertising their competitive pricing on bundles.

The report claims specialty dealers could grab share from discount stores in the accessories buyer segment by not putting big premiums in accessories.

In fact, given that picture taking with smart phones is growing, specialty dealers should expand in accessories for those devices too.

The report was based on a questionnaire jointly designed by PMA and PICA, and conducted by the Australian Centre for Retail Studies at Monash University. Responses came from an online panel of 2000 Australian households.

Full details of the report will be published in the next issue of Photo & Imaging News magazine.