Now that the image is virtual and the processing side of the business is being sold online, dealers must take a good look at hard goods accessories as that is where a good deal of profit potential resides. While darkroom supplies never fully paid the rent, most folks these days are buying their image processing software online directly from the maker. And why not? They can test drive the software for a few weeks at no cost, and then opt in or out when the license expires. Carrying software, except for a few biggies, is like selling milk, except the “sell by” date never quite appears on the package.
But there are many more avenues for sales in today’s “digital age”, with marketers jumping on board with “digital” tripods, “digital” bags and more. (Indeed, there was recently a consumer trade show in New York dubbed “Digital Life”; I am not sure why but that moniker just gives me the creeps. If life is digital then I am nothing more than a component in their vast web, a consumer who supplies the electricity for their existence. And while modern life breeds its share of duality, I just can’t think of myself as living by a binary code.)
In any case, silliness of marketing titles aside, accessory sales growth is where it’s at. And while traditional items like bags, tripods, tripod heads, lenses and so forth will contribute the lion’s share of sales, there’s a whole new cast of characters that have joined the fray. These include all the peripherals of the computer world, including connections (card readers, various wires and such), memory and storage products (disks, external hard drives, flash memory etc.), display devices (such as the growing digital picture frame market) and even computers. And we can’t forget the Internet and its associated routers, home network setups and more. These days, the Internet has become an integral part of the digital picture business.
The Net Factor
Wireless routers and such in the photo/imaging department? You bet. I spend part of my year in a rural area where I am anything but hard wired to the Internet. While in the metro area I enjoy cable modem, out here in the hills I connect to the Internet via a receiver on my roof that “sees” an antennae on the roof of a cattle ranch down the valley — no kidding. And my TV is satellite all the way. If you walk into the local guy’s shop where all these services are provided you’ll see as many digital cameras on display as you will surge protectors. He gets it.
As much as anyone, and perhaps a bit more I suspect, I use the Internet to share images, send files to family, friends and work, and even attempt to sell images online that I used to sell through a traditional stock agency. Indeed, I even teach a photography course online, and all those students use the Internet to send images as well.
The point is that the picture business has redefined itself with a new raft of accessories to feature and sell. Although external events often determine what might be sold at what time (for example, airline carry-on regulations will determine what size camera bag consumers will buy; new technology might make some accessories, such as card readers and CD burners, obsolete) there are developments “inside” the industry that will also sway what you might stock on your shelves.
The Preservation Business
One of these is the emergence of the double-digital megapixel digicam. Now that we have 10-12 megapixels for the masses, the issue of hard drive buildup and overload will be more pressing than ever before. That means that all of us have to begin a campaign to make the consumer aware of how to protect and preserve those precious memories. We can no longer allow folks to blithely shoot away and not be cognizant of ways and means to make sure that two generations distant will be able to see the times of their parents’ and grandparents’ lives. And storing images solely on a hard drive is very, very chancy, especially with the number of viruses swirling around these days.
Yet, that’s what many digital shooters continue to do. They might not have the time, or the disposition, or frankly even the know-how to do the proper backup. All of us, I am sure, are guilty of this to one extent or another. But if you sell digital photography you should be selling image “insurance” as well.
This approach might just make memory and storage the next big growth area in hard good accessory sales. While this class of trade will never match that of bags and lenses, there’s no question that it’s the area that needs the most attention and marketing to put in front of the consumer as a “must-have” accessory for their bright new digicam. In olden times the cardinal sin was selling a camera and lens without selling a bag and a UV filter (often the only profit margin on the sale.) Nowadays the same could be said for backup memory, and while the profit margin motive might be there it’s also a “good thing” to do.
It’s tough enough for folks to go out all day and then download to their computer and find that they can’t “see” the pictures on their card. It’s the equivalent of getting back a blank roll of film from the finisher. But in the old days at least you’d get a free roll of film and perhaps even a free processing coupon for your anguish—nowadays it’s all in the hands of the user, and those might be inexperienced hands at best. So let’s all ‘fess up and make this an area of concern that combines sales with a true educational campaign.
Display Decisions
Another hot area for enhanced accessory sales is the so-called “digital picture frame.” Why have a static image in a frame on your office desk when you can sit there enjoying your family’s entire Yosemite trip (including video clips)? It sure beats going over those boring mid-year figures or Googling until the lunch bell sounds. There are even frames that can be used for the entire “multi-media” experience, for sound, stills, motion and more, with some even offering wireless performance. Large home entertainment companies are looking into mixing image playback with wide-screen TVs and home networks. The digital picture frame brings that experience to a more personal, and certainly more portable venue.
In short, the image is breaking out of the bounds of print and albums. It is presenting sales and marketing opportunities unheard of just a few short years ago. Think of how you viewed slides in the old days and how images are shown and shared today, and you’ll just get a hint of the tidal change that has occurred. Yes, cameras and lenses and bags and tripods are the hard goods that all can relate to; they link with goods that were sold in the past. Making sales can be tough but everyone can relate to that portion of the picture business. But remember that guy I mentioned who is doing Internet hookups who also has digital cameras in his walk-in shop? His entrepreneurial spirit is what will create new products and opportunities in the digital age. He understands that the borders between communication and images are blurring fast, and that what serves one will increasingly serve the other. And that’s where the growth in the picture business will come. yy
