December 20, 2006 – An increasing number of consumers are printing digital photos at retail locations, according to a study released yesterday by market research firm InfoTrends. In the study, 2006 U.S. Photo Kiosk and Retail Dial Photofinishing End-User Study Analysis, InfoTrends found that retail printing rose by 20 percent since last year.
The rise in retail printing is a trend that many industry analysts have predicted and are now confirming, due to the increased availability of retail options. Both net-to-retail printing and photo kiosk printing have the most potential to grow, according to InfoTrends.
“More retailers are offering not only net-to-retail services, but also one-hour processing using net-to-retail,” said InfoTrends research analyst Ann Morris in a Dec. 19 press release. With services offered by local stores such as CVS, Walgreens, and Target, users are increasingly finding more opportunities to send their images directly to print from online sharing sites.
In addition, the falling price per print has reached an all time low, reported USA Today last month. The average price per print is 15 cents, according to the Photo Marketing Association. However, consumers can find a 4x6 print for as low as 5 cents at Winkflash.
Consumers will print 6.9 billion retail prints this year, according to PMA.
