It’s probably not surprising that the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t been the best thing for camera sales, among other aspects of the economy.
And consumer camera sales were already having a hard time prior to the coronavirus and, now, they’re absolutely hemorrhaging if Sony’s trends are anything to go by for this market.
Photo Rumors highlights that the latest fiscal report for the first quarter shows that Sony’s camera sales are down by at least 50% compared to the same period in 2019. The numbers are 100,254 still and video cameras in 2019 versus 46,405 in 2020, a decline of 53,849 per Sony’s own figures.
Namely, the report states, “FY20 Q1 sales decreased 31% year-on-year to 331.8 billion yen primarily due to a decrease in unit sales of digital cameras and TVs.”
Further:
“Sales of image sensors to AV have also decreased due to the contraction of the sensor market for digital cameras resulting from the impact of the spread of COVID- 19. We expect the market to contract in one year as much as we had previously expected it would contract over the next approximately three years.”
Looks like Sony chose the perfect time to spin off their camera division when they did that earlier this year, eh? Of course, the decline in camera sales isn’t a new phenomenon but analysts are trying to figure out whether this COVID-19 impact is temporary or an event that will accelerate the decline in camera sales.
It isn’t like people aren’t without their own opinions on what is wrong with the industry right now. We told you about one industry watcher’s analysis that the primary reason for much of the decline is cannibalistic competition among camera makers. You can read that here in case you missed it.
What do you think about the collapse of camera sales this year? Is COVID-19 largely to blame or is this the acceleration of a trend we’ve witnessed for the past several years? Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments section below if you like.
Don’t forget to check out our other photography news articles on Light Stalking by clicking this link right here.
