Boston, MA—The 2010s was the most photographed decade in history, asserts research firm Rise Above Research. In fact, the company estimates that between 2010 and 2019 more than 8.6 trillion photos were captured globally. Moreover, they were taken by photographers wielding film cameras, digital cameras, feature phones, smartphones as well as tablets. That number represents seven times more photos taken than the previous decade. And it now also actualizes archived special memories.
Archived Special Memories
Furthermore, the last 10 years seem to have passed in a blink of an eye. However, they constitute almost half a lifetime for some in generation Z, more than 25% for some millennials, and almost 20% for some gen Xers. Important events have occurred in everyone’s lives—from births to graduations and weddings, as well as the passing of loved ones.
What’s more, these special memories now lay dormant; they are archived on hard drives and other storage media. With the passage of time, even casual snapshot photos may now embody special memories. In addition, Rise Above Research estimates that less than 5% of photos taken in that last decade were printed.
“While the photo print industry has focused on getting people to print recent photos, we believe getting people to relive the past decade through their photo collections represents an untapped opportunity,” said Ed Lee, cofounder of Rise Above Research. “This is a great time for print providers to remind customers to print some of their special memories, as a way to preserve the past for the future.”
Rise Above Research, LLC
Rise Above Research is an independent market intelligence and strategic consulting firm. It supports industry vendors, service providers as well as retailers with actionable intelligence. The company’s mission is to assist them in making effective decisions in the fast-paced digital photography and imaging markets.
Industry veterans Ed Lee and David Haueter established the company in 2020. Together, they offer extensive experience in providing market research and strategic consulting for the digital imaging industry.
