Nikon heading India’s Digital Camera Market in CY Q1 2014-6Wresearch

Digital cameras which have been one of the most popular consumer electronics products in India, are now witnessing a consistent declining trend. Growing smartphone and phablets market is considered as one of the key reason behind the shrinking market share of digital cameras in India. These devices are loaded with high resolution camera, which makes them preferred choice over entry level or compact digital cameras.

According to 6Wresearch, India Digital Camera Market shipments reached 0.35 Million units in CY Q1 2014, representing a substantial decline of 29% over CY Q1 2013.In terms of unit shipments, NIKON emerged as a new market leader in the overall Indian Digital Camera Market.

Although, overall India’s digital camera market has declined significantly due to shrinking demand for compact digital cameras. However, in terms of unit shipments, DSLR segment registered a substantial growth of 36%. Increasing purchasing power and rising demand for high end cameras have fueled the growth of DSLR cameras in India.

Table 1: India Digital Camera Market CY Q1 2014

           Source: 6Wresearch Quarterly India Digital Camera Market, CY 1Q’ 2014

     Key Highlights (CY Q1 2014)

1. In the Lens segment, Nikkor lenses captured more than 43% of the total market share.
2. Digital Cameras with Wi-Fi functionality occupied around 16% market share.
3. NIKON, SONY and CANON together registered approximately 94% share of the entire Indian Digital Camera Market.

During CY Q1 2014, demand for Wi-Fi, waterproof, GPS and full HD recording enabled digital cameras has increased significantly. In the coming quarters, market growth can only be achieved by product innovation and addition of new features.

NIKON recently announced launch of its Coolpix S810 digital camera, which is based on android platform. This trend is likely to be adopted by other players as well, thus driving overall growth of the market.

On the other hand, SONY introduced its Alpha series cameras in the DSLR segment, targeting the customer base in Point and Shoot segment. As the market for DSLR camera is expected to increase, further cannibalization of the market share of compact digital cameras is anticipated over the coming quarters.