Digital camera shipments down 50% from two years ago, according to CIPA

The trend for digital cameras isn’t optimistic, according to CIPA, but may not account for action cams and other innovations

The  Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has published a new graph showing the number of cameras shipped in February 2019 and the numbers aren’t trending well. According to the association, sales were down from January 2019 and had substantially decreased compared with February 2018.

Global digital camera shipments in February 2019 came in at only 935,148 units compared to the 1,001,398 shipped in January 2019. This is a more than 30% decrease year-over-year, with January 2018 having seen 1,340,492 shipments and February 2018 having maintained a consistent rate at 1,340,995.

Not included in these stats, however, are up-and-coming camera categories, like drones, 360-degree cameras, VR cameras action cameras and instant cameras. As we have mentioned in the past, these categories are driving traffic to retailers’ stores and websites.

Source: CIPA

Smartphones are not faring any better

According to latest estimates from market research firm IDC, global smartphone shipments amounted to 375 million units in the fourth quarter of 2018, marking the fifth straight quarter of negative growth for the smartphone market. For the entirety of 2018, smartphone shipments declined by 4.1 percent to 1.4 billion units, making it the worst year ever in terms of shipment growth.

“Globally the smartphone market is a mess right now,” Ryan Reith, vice president at IDC, says, citing longer replacement cycles, high penetration levels and consumer frustration with rising prices as some of the factors contributing to the market’s current weakness. That weakness will likely carry on through 2019, as vendors continue to face challenging conditions, especially in China, the world’s largest smartphone market. The imminent arrival of 5G devices does provide a glimmer of hope for the industry, but the more expensive hardware could drive up prices even further, potentially limiting the positive effect of 5G’s arrival.

Just recently, Sony Mobile Communications revised downward its 2018 smartphone shipments targets, according to DigiTimes, dropping targets to 6.5 million units from seven million projected previously. The revised figures will represent a decline of 51.9% from the 13.5 million units shipped a year earlier, the report added.