IDC: 6.5 Million Digicams Shipped In 2001
Staff -- TWICE, 2/11/2002
FRAMINGHAM, MASS.— U.S. shipments in 2001 of point and shoot digital cameras (cameras with LCDs) reached 6.5 million units, up 30 percent from 2000 totals, according to market research firm IDC.
According to IDC, the market got a huge boost from the fourth quarter holiday season with 40 percent of the entire year's shipments coming in a fourth quarter frenzy.
Holiday shoppers chose Sony (19 percent), Kodak (17 percent), and HP (15 percent) with Kodak in particular making strong gains with its EasyShare line of digital cameras and docking station.
For the whole year, Sony again captured the lead share with 23 percent of the market followed by Olympus (16 percent), and HP (15 percent). Sony, Olympus and Kodak, long-time leaders, actually lost market share points during 2000, while HP, Canon, Nikon and Fujifilm gained points.
IDC chalked up the market share moves to aggressive advertising on behalf of the vendors and a general increase in consumer awareness.
The total market, including simple-VGA digital cameras (cameras without LCDs), reached 8 million units, a 2 percent increase over 2000 levels. This was due to a drastically declining simple-VGA segment, which saw companies like Polaroid and Agfa exit the market.
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