Output Trends 2013
Okay, so the news is certainly encouraging on the photo merchandise front looking out over the next few years. The overall market in the U.S. is estimated to grow from around 113 million units reported in 2012 to nearly 158 million units by 2017, so says David Haueter, Associate Director for InfoTrends' Photo Merchandise Trends Service.
Where InfoTrends sees the real growth is with regard to the personalization of these products, as Haueter explains, "It should be remembered that many of the products in this category have been around for many years and reside in a relatively mature market. Personalization is breathing new life into many of these products, resulting in growth rather than flat or declining volume."
All well and good for sure, but we thought we'd take a look at a few emerging trends and technologies, that while not directly related to the output market per se, also bode well for continued growth in this category.
Mobile Matters
Several of the major kiosk manufacturers have recently reported strong growth with regard to mobile usage on their kiosks. Over the past couple of years the mobile ordering process has become an important part of the kiosk experience for consumers as well.
Lucidiom, as one example, recently reported that consumers are embracing the mobile ordering method, with iPhone/mobile adoption growing last year on the Lucidiom platform from 1.5% to 7.5% of total orders - a 366% increase. Lucidiom's mobile app is available in English, French, Spanish and Japanese and allows users to synchronize photos between their device and their online storage, and place orders using photos from either location. Each app is customized by the specific retailer with logo, branding, description, products and pricing.
Kodak, while currently working out the details on the sale of its kiosk business (over 106,000 units) remain excited about how the mobile imaging consumer is beginning to take to the kiosk as an output solution. At this year's CES Kodak's Larry Trevarthen, VP of marketing and retail system solutions, explained that the company is looking to expand the kiosk's output capability beyond just photos to now include any content the consumer may want to create - i.e. self-published books, recipe books, even genealogy books. An integration, he explained, of the On Demand book business with the photo kiosk.
