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July 11, 2006 – The Photo Marketing Association announced that discount stores make up the majority of camera and camcorder sales in a study released this week.
In 2005, 15 percent of U.S. households bought a camera or camcorder. Of those camera purchases last year, a striking 85 percent of still cameras purchased were digital, according to PMA. DSLRs accounted for 7.4 percent of the units sold, although their sales were mainly through the Internet, electronic stores, and camera stores.
The majority of camera and camcorder purchases were made through discount stores, making up 30.9 percent of sales. Electronic stores, over discounters and Internet retailers, had the largest increases in revenue last year, growing from 24.8 percent to 33.1 percent of gains. While discount stores constitute the majority of individual sales, electronics stores gained more revenue than discounters because of their higher camera and camcorder prices, according to PMA.
Camera stores made up only 9.3 percent of the camera and camcorder sales last year, dropping from 13.4 percent the previous year, states the PMA website. Internet sales remained steady at 15.8 percent in 2005.
'In 2006, as digital camera sales peak, competition for market share among channels will become even more intense,' said PMA Research analyst Emily Fassanella on the study.