Photofinishing

“Whilst analogue is declining, digital photography increases in popularity and consumers, keen on sharing their photos, are looking atmoreways of displaying images.”

and predicted that the sales figure will at least double within the next twelve months. It was also noted that photo books represented a key area of growth for print in general because, as they are multiple-print gifts, each one represents a number of photographs being printed, rather than just one. Figures show, including this data,

that the number of photos being printed on any format, overall, is actually increasing, which is a promising fact for any photo finishing retailer, online or in store. Greetings cards have been quiet

towards the beginning of the year, but being such a seasonal item, this does not give a true reading. They are a huge market, along with personalised photo calendar printing, in November and December in time to catch the Christmas gift sales period. Cewe predict the personalised greeting card market to increase more than 100% year on year, not least because of the

effective marketing and viral popularity of advertising campaigns from companies like moonpig.com. Other retailers offering a similar service – either cheaper or along with other products to attract consumer interest – can expect to benefit from this notoriety. “If I were starting up a business

now,” says Keith Hanson, CEO of Cewe, “it’d be online photofinishing, particularly specialising in photo book, calendars, greetings cards and personalised business cards.” The UK still lags behind the rest of

western Europe in terms of consumer take up of photo books and other photo gifts, but consumer awareness is growing and sales figures across the sector are starting to reflect this upward trend. This presents a huge opportunity for retailers in the coming year. As has been well publicised,

photo book machines (and to an extent, facilities for making canvas prints and other photo gift products)

have become more viable for the average retailer. The machines themselves now

have smaller footprints and require less initial financial outlay, as well as being quicker and more efficient on consumables. The predicted upturn in demand for these items

seems at risk, pending important new regulations. However, extensive research and a number of interviews have revealed that the switching of passports to digital data could in fact be a positive move for retailers. The ID photos currently in common production will

“Greetings cards have been

quiet towards the beginning of the year, but being such a seasonal item, this does not give true reading.”

means that manufacturers are working to improve solutions for the high street retailer. The profitable photofinishing line of ID and passport photos currently

still be useful for other purposes such as travel passes and other forms of identification. Passport and driving license photos, once digitised, will still be required to meet stringent standards, and once the requisite equipment has been installed, it may be possible for retailers to command better prices than they currently do for passport photos. Whilst analogue is declining,

digital photography increases in popularity and consumers, keen on sharing their photos, are looking at more ways of displaying images. With home entertainment coming to the forefront, consumers are looking at ways to turn photographs into a family hobby and use them around the home. This presents a wealth of opportunities, both online and in store.

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