*NEWS*AUSSIES:$3.6BIL ON DIGITAL PRODUCTS

[Anonymous]

Aussies Spend $3.6 Billion on Digital Lifestyle Products
April 
2006: Australian consumers spent approximately $3.6 billion on digital
products last year, according to the latest Canon Digital Lifestyle
Index .
The
CDLI, which covers digital still cameras, digital camcorders, inkjet
printers, photo printers, DVD players, DVD recorders, games consoles,
plasma TVs, LCD TVs, digital media players and multi-function devices
is independent research commissioned by Canon and delivered by GfK
Marketing Services. The latest report shows spending on these devices
grew by more than 30% between 2004 to 2005, despite sizeable reductions
in the cost of most digital products.
Digital still cameras
attracted the largest investment of all categories, with a total spend
of $471 million representing 22% of the market. They were followed by
plasma TVs at 20% and digital media players (such as iPods and other
MP3 players) at 16%. Demand for digital still camera continue to rise,
despite the fact that more than four million were sold in Australia in
the last three years. Although the average sales price of cameras has
decreased, the regular release of upgraded products – often offering
increased functionality at an even lower price – has consistently
driven sales.
The report says the largest average price reductions
have been for photo printers (down 52.8% or $122.15 to an average price
of $108.09) making them much more accessible to consumers.  This drop
in price is due to a number of factors, including increased
distribution through large chains and bundling of photo printers with
digital cameras and consumables.  Although photo printers accounted for
the lowest proportion of spending ($10m or 0.4%), photo printer sales
are climbing consistently with second half sales of 84,655 units
marking an increase of 31.1% compared to the same half in 2004. Sales
of photo printers are forecast to increase steadily this year

[Author]

April 11, 2006 at 9:36 AM