There’s some good news coming out of Europe in terms of market trends for retailers and print service providers. At a recent presentation at the Dscoop EMEA Conference, Mette Erisksen from InfoTrends shared a number slides and commentary supporting European market forecasts for photo merchandise.
Growth is forecast for all four key categories – canvases, calendars, photo books and photo cards. The range of drivers of market demand are expanding and Eriksen defined them as being high awareness, gift and own use, high repeat purchase, first time buyers, promotional activities and smart phone creation /ordering. Demand barriers centre on three points – no interest among consumers, the long time it takes to create and order photo merchandise and the alternate ways to view and share images. In light of these barriers and market drivers Eriksen suggested a number of recommendations:
- Keep customers engaged with an expanded offering
- Make the process easy
- Make the experience convenient
- Make it enjoyable
- Adjust to changes in technology
- Maintain exceptional quality