Digital camera shipments hit the 10 million mark in 2002, according to the market research firm IDC.
Four million units shipped in the fourth quarter alone. Leading the pack, again, was Sony with 23 percent of the market, followed by Olympus with 14 percent and Kodak with 12 percent.
According to IDC, the persistent success of the top vendors was due to marketing higher resolution cameras between $199 and $399. As expected, many dealers used heavily discounted digital cameras to drive in-store traffic.
The year’s market share leaders were no different from the fourth quarter’s performance. Sony cornered 24 percent of the market, followed by Olympus with 15 percent and Kodak with 13 percent. IDC indicated that Canon surged ahead in 2002, while there were “major declines” by HP.
