The strong surge in digital camera sales during the holiday season of 2001 has swept into 2002 and led to strong sales in the first quarter of this year, according to market research company IDC.
In its first quarter 2002 U.S. digital camera market share review, IDC noted that consumers chose digital cameras as the CE device to spend their dollars on. Shipments of point-and-shoot digital cameras (cameras with color LCDs) reached 1.5 million units, up 60 percent from the first quarter of 2001.
Sony captured 23 percent of the market, followed by Olympus and Kodak with 17 percent and 16 percent, respectively.
IDC also singled out Fujifilm, Nikon and Canon as being the big gainers in market share points and shipments over the first quarter. IDC has forecast that the number of consumer digital cameras shipped in the United States will hit 8.8 million in 2002.
