Scanner market reaches maturity

JUNE 21--Worldwide scanner revenues are projected to reach $3.1 billion in 2001, with North America and Western Europe each accounting for approximately 40% of the total, according to InfoTrends Research Group (Boston, MA; www.infotrends-rgi.com). The group says the scanner mass market has reached a point of maturity in both the North American and Western European markets, and revenue will begin to decline in 2002. Scanner revenues will reach $2.6 billion in revenues in 2006, and a total of 24.7 million units will be shipped. However, the rest of the world will continue to grow in unit shipments at a rate of 4% annually. Through 2006, the scanner market will be both positively and negatively impacted by other digital imaging solutions, including digital cameras, film digitization services, and photo kiosks.

"Although alternative digital imaging solutions pose a competitive threat to consumer imaging scanners in North America and Western Europe, they also help to drive the worldwide consumer digital imaging market by increasing awareness of digital imaging and its applications," said Janet Kauffman, research analyst at InfoTrends. "Scanners continue to be an important part of the digital imaging market, and according to our US Scanner Penetration Study, 48% of those who have uploaded a photo to a photo service Web site used a scanner to create at least some of the images that they posted online."

In North America, the penetration of scanners has reached nearly one-third of all US PC households, making them the most established digital imaging solution today. Key trends include price stabilization, the usage of innovative design in the scanner casing, and the increasing popularity of brand-name scanner vendors. However, the North American scanner market is projected to decline at a rate of 1% annually through 2006, contributing to a competitive retail environment and further consolidation among scanner vendors.

The group predicts that in Western Europe 2001 scanner shipments will increase 4% over 2000, leading scanner shipments to total 9.6 million units. Throughout the forecast period, scanner shipments will remain flat. Shipments in each European country tend to follow overall technology trends. In 2001, Germany, the UK, and France together will make up 59% of the entire European market.