Maximise business growth with photo book merchandising

Henryk Kraszewski, colour production marketing manager at Fuji Xerox Australia, explains how print providers can take advantage of this high-return merchandising opportunity.

Photo books are fast becoming the leading photo merchandising trend as consumers around the globe demand more creative ways to display thousands of digital photos. Print providers looking for innovative new ways to increase revenue streams while improving their customer experience should embrace this opportunity.

In Western Europe, photo books have already replaced photo prints as the prime source of revenue in the merchandise market, equating to a $1.5 billion market opportunity by 2013 according to InfoTrends. Similarly, in the US, PMA Marketing Research reported that the number of households ordering photo books increased by 14% between 2005 to 2007, a jump from 3% to 17% respectively – amounting to a $389 million revenue opportunity last year.

It’s only a matter of time before Australia follows suit and print providers can capitalise on the revenue opportunity that photo book merchandising can deliver almost immediately. According to the 2008-09 PMA Australian Consumer Digital Imaging Survey, 68 per cent of consumers make/order photo books via a retail outlet, while a further 14 per cent do it online.

So why are photo books proving so popular among overseas consumers? Quite simply, it’s about cost and convenience. Photo books are often more convenient than the standard 4-by-6 prints. And for a small premium cost, consumers can take images from a birthday celebration or holiday and create a bound book to cherish the occasion.

More importantly, photo books can deliver faster returns and higher profit margins. So while customers are often willing to pay a premium for a photo book, the production costs are still reasonable. For example, the profit on the average $30 photo book is about the same as that of 250 standard prints. 

To enable print providers to create high quality photo books more cost-effectively, Fuji Xerox’s 700 Digital Color Press is the perfect solution. Printing at up to 71 pages per minute, it produces high resolution photo books featuring sharp colours and excellent image quality. 

As a testament to the product’s high quality, the 700 Digital Color Press received the Innovative Digital Product award from the Digital Imaging Marketing Association (DIMA) at the PMA International Convention and Tradeshow in Las Vegas in March 2009. It also scooped a DIMA Digital Printer Shoot-Out Award in the 41 – 70 ppm category for overall print and colour quality.

To help educate print providers about the photo book revolution, Fuji Xerox offers the ProfitAccelerator® Digital Business Resources Suite. Picture me Profitable, included in the Suite, provides articles, reports, case studies and white papers on how to benefit from this booming market.

For more information, contact Henryk Kraszewski on 02 9586 5620 or email henryk.kraszewski@aus.fujixerox.com.