With digital cameras present in more than half of U.S. households in 2006, it is not surprising that many consumers are choosing to keep their images digital, reports PMA Marketing Research. Ninety-eight percent of digital camera households store images and there are a multitude of storage options available. Digital methods appear to be among the most popular, according to the 2007 PMA US Consumer Photo Buying Report. The top storage method for 2006 was the computer hard drive, holding fairly steady over the past few years. The percentage of households using the digital camera memory card for storage increased significantly to 53 percent in 2006, up from only 38 percent in 2005. In 2004, only 19 percent of households stored images on the memory card. This may be the result of larger memory cards now being offered at lower prices.

  In times where film cameras were the primary picture taking devices, printing was the main method of storage. With the emergence of digital cameras, however, consumers no longer had to print their images in order to have them readily available. In 2004, 19 percent of digital camera users used prints as a way to store images; in 2005, it was 33 percent. In 2006, printing for storage made a surprising comeback, with 52 percent of digital households storing images in the form of prints. This is a substantial increase compared to the earlier years when digital printing was more dramatically overshadowed by digital methods. CDs as a method of storage had become more common than prints for some time, but in 2006 printing for storage appeared to rise above CD storage.

  This is beneficial to photo retailers who were expecting the decrease in printing to accelerate with the evolution of digital cameras and accessories. In addition, consumers also continue to print for reasons other than storage, such as gifting and displaying photos in various ways around the home, making it evident that prints will remain important to consumers in a digital world.

--By Kristy Clairmont

PMA Marketing Research Analyst