Film camera sales value fell 68% in the year to 31 August – while the number of digital cameras sold in the UK, since 1997, reached 20m.
The figures ? released today by GfK ? show that two-thirds of UK households now own a digital camera, with 3.3m units sold so far this year.
The statistics also reveal that the UK digital camera market is now worth almost £1 billion a year – representing around 80% of the entire UK imaging market. This is despite the fact that the average price of a digital camera is £169 – around a third that of nine years ago when the average was £464, claims GfK.
?The tremendous growth has come at the expense of traditional cameras and film,? said a GfK spokesman, adding that many UK stores have ?stopped stocking analogue cameras?.
In a statement GfK adds: ?Traditional film sales have declined over 75% since 1997. Furthermore, single-use camera sales declined by over 18% in the last year, as the use of mobile phone cameras becomes an increasing threat.?
However, the digital camera market is ?far from saturated?, according to GfK which claims that consumers are trading-up and replacing their current digital camera or buying an additional one.
This is the first time digital camera sales have hit 20m, since GfK began compiling sales data in 1997.
