Boston, MA – September 3, 2020 – The photo merchandise market in the US has had an uncharacteristically down year in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, according to Rise Above Research, photo merchandise product sales are expected to recover quickly and return to growth in 2021.
“Photo merchandise product sales have certainly been impacted by COVID-19, but the market has shown its resiliency amid significant challenges,” said David Haueter, director and founder at Rise Above Research. “The pandemic has led to a better appreciation of the value of printed photos and has caused some people to create and order photo projects that they may not have had time to do before,” he added.
2020 will see an overall decline of 13% in unit sales, driven mostly by a sharper decline in photo cards. Other product areas such as photo books and wall décor will only see mild declines. A rebound in sales is expected in 2021, with an expected economic recovery from COVID-19 and an increase in events and gatherings that typically generate photo output. Sales of cards, books, calendars, and specialty photo prints/wall décor are expected to generate over $2.3 billion with unit increases of around 5%.
The 2020 US Photo Merchandise Forecast provides a five-year forecast for the products mentioned above and includes units, revenue, average selling prices, and breakouts of online versus retail order channels. Commentary on key drivers and barriers impacting the market is also provided.
About Rise Above Research, LLC
Rise Above Research, LLC is an independent market intelligence and strategic consulting firm that supports industry vendors, service providers, and retailers with actionable intelligence to assist them in making effective decisions in fast-paced digital photography and imaging markets. Established in 2020 by industry veterans Ed Lee and David Haueter, Rise Above Research has extensive experience providing groundbreaking market research and strategic consulting for the digital imaging industry. Our industry analysts have a combined 40+ years of covering a wide variety of imaging markets.