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Hi everyone.

I'm a final year university student and am doing a strategic business review of the digital camera market in the UK.

I was wondering if anyone has any idea where I can find any information about the market size, growth rates and trends and also how this market would be segmented in terms of consumers.

I'm doing a PESTLE analysis on the UK market then concentrating on Canon and am doing a competitive analysis for them followed by a critical review of their positioning and management of the marketing mix in this sector. I need to identify the options that they have to move forward.

I have already done a fair bit of work on this but any extra recommended resources would be more than welcome - especially as I have no idea about digital cameras!

I'm not looking for people to do my assignment for me as it is nearly complete but most of my information is from academic journals or online articles and I would like to get clarification that I am understanding the market correctly. I think the best people to ask is the camera users themselves. For example:

I have segmented the market by consumer and have done this with the following categories:

Amateurs - use compact cameras or compact system cameras
Keen amateurs - use Bridge cameras
Professionals use - DSLR's

I would like to know if camera users agree with this and (in your opinions) is there other terminology that you believe would fit this better e.g. Pro consumers?


Many thanks in advance.
 
You need to segment the DSLR market! There are more amateurs than pro's and there's kit marketed at low end mid range and pro's, although there's still lots of crossover, with many people shooting with mid range DSLRs for money, and many rich amateurs with top end pro kit.
 
The way that you have segmented the market is rather simplistic, as Phil says, a lot of amateurs (like me) use a DSLR, my partner who just snaps the kids, holidays, etc uses a bridge camera, i don't think that people (photographers) fall easily into those categories.
 
Doesn't knowing the average disposable income for different age groups come into this somewhere?
Also, amateur photographers with lots of disposable income purchasing "pro" equipment.
Does the recently retired person with a nice personal pension and no mortgage have more available readies than a mid 30s homeowner with two kids? I ain't got kids but i am in my mid 30s, have a ridiculous mortgage and can't really afford the luxury of expensive kit, but i get by lol
The segmentation above could do with a rethink perhaps.
So many variables.
 
I think you're going to have problems codifying the whole market. You can say with reasonable confidence that all pros who shoot digital will use dSLRs most of the time- but press photographers will sometimes use advanced compacts (ie Canon `G` series) as these attract less attention (necessary in, say, war zones or for clandestine shooting) and will fit in a pocket, making it easier to run like hell when circumstances demand. :D

At the other end, you will find people who just need a simple point-and-click for holidays and special events and who have little interest in advancing beyond this.

But, in between, you will meet people in their eighties buying dSLRs and learning to get good use from them, and equipment nuts who spend thousands because they have to have the latest thing - but use auto exposure settings. These people can have better and more equipment than highly successful professionals (who have the experience and knowledge to get good results from just about anything).


Perhaps you need to ask people who own the three classes of camera you have identified (and don't forget that many dSLRs now have video capability, and that a lot of enthusiasts still use film) what they use their gear for, rather than trying to fit the gear to a demographic.


Edit to add: Welcome to TP, by the way! :wave: Try not to be offended at some of the answers you may get...
 
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Hi everyone.

Thank you for all of your answers. The segments that I have chosen are what my teacher wants so I am unable to change these. Basically we have to make it as simple as possible. I did argue that there will be a blurring of segments due to some amateurs or keen amatuers using SLR's. I probably worded the question on here wrong as we have been told we need to segment the market by consumer type and only use around 3 segments so I was just trying to clarify that the matches that I have chosen are reasonable.

I'm at the final stages of this assignment now and am making recommendations based on what I have found.

I was wondering does anyone know what the average lifecycle of a camera is?

What are your views of the products that Canon produce? would you say they are cheap or expensive?

Many thanks
 
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