Digital Picture Frames Break Sales Record

Mother’s Day Trumps Black Friday Digital Picture Frame Sales Revenue

According to leading consumer and retail information provider The NPD Group’s weekly point-of sale data*, digital picture frames grossed nearly $12 million for the week ending May 12, 2007, selling more than 112 thousand units. Those numbers made Mother’s Day digital picture frame sales just as strong in units as frame sales during the week before Christmas and beat the revenue brought in by digital picture frame sales during the week of Black Friday.

Seven-inch digital picture frames were the most popular this Mother’s Day, capturing almost 56 percent of the digital frame market in revenue and 73 percent in units. The average selling price (ASP) of a seven-inch frame dropped from $139 last Mother’s Day to $81 this year. Overall ASP for digital picture frames went from $166 to $106. There were only 13 products on the market last year compared to the 70 this Mother’s Day.

“Digital picture frames really came into their own around the holidays and are now gaining even more momentum as great gifts for Mom,” said Liz Cutting, senior imaging analyst, The NPD Group. “There are so many options now, incorporating video, audio, internal memory, and Wi-Fi capabilities; the possibilities for having pictures come to life are endless. This gives moms the opportunity to showcase a moving montage at work, at home, or on the go.”

Even as the digital camera market begins to slow, excitement surrounding image sharing, both electronic and printed, continues to grow. Point-and-shoot digital camera sales for the week leading up to Mother’s Day increased six percent in units but declined five percent in dollars over the same time period in 2006. ASP dropped 11 percent year-over-year from $223 to $200.

Overall consumer technology retail spending** for the week leading up to Mother’s Day decreased three percent from 2006 to $838 million, consistent with spending trends throughout the year.

*NPD’s weekly POS information is derived from a subset panel of retailers that also contribute to NPD’s projected monthly POS panel.

**Consumer Technology sales include IT, imaging, audio, video, and consumables.

About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,600 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, visit http://www.npd.com/.