DUNSTABLE, ENGLAND, June 30, 2010
/24-7PressRelease/ -- In Q1 this year the consumer camcorder market in the leading 17 EMEA countries witnessed 6% year-on-year unit growth, according to sell-in shipment data collected by Futuresource Consulting.
In terms of shipment volumes, the UK continued to lead the way in EMEA, though year-on-year unit growth has largely been fuelled by territories such as France and Germany, with 12% and 13% growth respectively. Spot deals and large orders in emerging countries have also been key to market recovery, with both Turkey and Saudi Arabia showing strong Q1 growth.
"Pocket-sized camcorders - which include the likes of Flip and 'pistol grip' camcorders - accounted for 35% of shipments, up from 31% in Q1 last year, partly attributed to the continued surge in online video applications and a thirst for user-generated web video uploads," says Simon Bryant, Principal Consultant at Futuresource Consulting. "Although this is fuelling the demand for video capture devices, it is also going some way towards driving sales of converged devices such as mobile phones and Apple's iPod Nano. However, the relatively poorer quality optics - including optical zoom - and other sacrifices associated with multifunctional devices - including processing speeds, battery life, memory limitations and imaging aids - will help reduce the long term threat from these devices.
"The camcorder market faces the same pressures as most other portable CE categories, including economic factors and the impact of convergence, but the segment is holding up in volume terms, albeit largely at the expense of falling prices, leading to falling market values."
Looking to High Definition, sales of the format this year overtook standard definition devices to become the dominant format for the first time, with the lower cost of HD devices taking a central role in driving the shift.
While sales of camcorders dipped in 2009 for the first time in more than ten years - largely as result of economic factors, which continue to affect some countries - volumes are expected to recover and witness positive but slowing growth for the next three to four years, after which they are expected to start falling due to saturation and the impact of mobile convergence.
Notes
Futuresource Consulting is a specialist research and knowledge-based consulting company, providing its clients with expertise in consumer electronics, digital imaging, entertainment media, broadcast, optical manufacturing, storage media and IT.
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