The India digital camera market recorded a healthy growth in unit sales (shipments) of 76% year-on-year (April-June 2010 over April-June 2009). The overall market crossed 6, 20,000 units for the first time in a single quarter in Q2 CY2010. The digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera category witnessed a significantly higher uptake, registering a growth of 557% year-on-year. This has been revealed in IDC's India Quarterly Digital Camera Tracker, 2Q 2010, August 2010 release,
Table 1: India Digital Camera Shipments (in thousands) by Form Factor*
April-June 2010
|
Form Factor
|
2Q 2009 (Apr-Jun) 2009)
|
1Q 2010 (Jan-Mar 2010)
|
2Q 2010 (Apr-Jun 2010)
|
Growth
(2Q 2010 over 1Q 2010)
|
Growth
(2Q 2010 over 2Q 2009)
|
|
P&S
|
348
|
501
|
588
|
17%
|
69%
|
|
DSLR
|
5
|
23
|
33
|
40%
|
557%
|
|
Total Shipments
|
353
|
524
|
621
|
18%
|
76%
|
Unit: In thousands * Source: IDC’s India Quarterly Digital Camera Tracker, 2Q 2010, August 2010 release
In the point-and-shoot (P&S) Camera category, Sony was the market leader with market share of 24% in terms of unit sales (shipments) during 2Q CY2010, followed by Nikon with 21%, Canon 16% and Kodak 14%. In the DSLR category, Nikon was the leader with a 55% share in terms of unit shipments during 2Q CY2010, followed by Canon with a 32% share.
According to Mr. Anirban Banerjee, Associate Vice President, Research, IDC India, "With rapid technological changes and evolving consumer preferences, a virtuous cycle of adoption of lifestyle enriching devices such as cameras has gathered pace.
“In recent years, social networking has picked up in a big way amongst Indian internet users, giving rise to the trend of sharing photos online. Digital cameras score over their analogue counterparts providing ease of use, ease of sharing content and affordability. This has helped popularise digital cameras, especially amongst young, urban users,” adds Mr. Banerjee.
Growing competition in recent quarters has led the vendors to launch cameras at affordable price points. This trend is seen to pick up just ahead of the festive season, backed by heavy promotions in popular media channels. Such cameras have found ready acceptance amongst first time buyers, penetrating the consumer market beyond the metros.
As per IDC India's study the digital camera price segment "below Rs. 10,000" contributed around 70% of total shipments in the country during the April-June 2010 quarter.
According to Nikhil Khurana, Lead Analyst, Digital Products, IDC India, "The IDC study points to an ever-increasing trend of buying better quality, high-resolution cameras by consumers for personal use. Digital camera vendors are innovating in terms of design, functionalities and technology, pushing out products to consumers at ever lower prices."
"Going forward, we expect this large scale adoption of digital cameras to spawn new trends such as adoption of digital photo frames and home photo printers', Nikhil further added.
Figure 1. India Digital Camera Market ASV Trends, 2Q 2009 to 2Q 2010
