Summary of our market study

The German online photo album market has demonstrated steady growth, and despite the uncertainties surrounding the Covid-19 crisis, the market continued to show positive trends. For instance, in 2019, sales of photo albums reached 8.98 million units, with an expected slight increase to 9.07 million for 2020. The market size of photo albums and photo-related merchandise was projected to hit 653 million euros by 2021. Online sales have played a significant role in this expansion, with 70.8% of all photo merchandise orders being made online, equating to a market size for online photographic merchandise of approximately 419.84 million euros in 2018. As the German e-commerce sector grows, with sales tripling to 59 billion euros over nearly a decade, and the demand for online photo albums surges during festive seasons, the market is shifting towards consolidation. Major players like Poster XXL, Whitewall, My Fujifilm, Cewe, Pixum, Pixelnet, and Fotokasten dominate the space, with some using shared editing software from IP Labs. Despite the increasing attention from tech giants such as Amazon and Google launching related services, the sector remains dynamic and open to innovation and change..**Emerging Trends in Germany's Photographic Market** In recent years, Germany has witnessed a vigorous upswing in its photographic services market, bolstered by an increasing preference for online transactions. Before the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, the Photoindustry Verband PIV, i.e., the Photo Industry Association, put forth statistics highlighting this trend. Specifically, the year 2019 saw the sale of photo albums peak at nearly 9 million units—a moderate but notable rise from the previous year. Predictions for the following year estimated a continuation of this growth trajectory, with sales expected to climb slightly higher. The German market exhibited a healthy Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), particularly from the years 2015 to 2018. Photo albums alone enjoyed a CAGR of slightly over 5%, indicating enduring consumer interest. Derivative products have demonstrated even more vitality with an impressive CAGR of nearly 8%. The financial magnitude of this segment was quite substantial too, with the domain raking in upwards of 590 million euros in sales for the year 2018. Forecasts for 2021 predicted an increase in this value, with expectations set around the 650 million euros mark. Delving deeper into the online sphere, approximately 70% of all photo merchandise sales were processed digitally. This translates into an online market size that was nearing 420 million euros in 2018 for photographic merchandise, including albums and other items, based on revenue figures and the percentage of online transactions. This significant online presence was further reinforced by the growing prominence of e-commerce in Germany, which nearly tripled its revenue over a decade, soaring to a formidable 59 billion euros by 2019. Consumer behavior studies, such as the one conducted by Idealo in 2019, shed light on the German public's online shopping frequency, revealing high levels of engagement. Noteworthy, however, was the increasing concern for personal data privacy, with over half of the survey respondents expressing apprehension about corporate access to their personal information. Yet, a corresponding percentage appeared willing to exchange personal data for tangible benefits such as discounts or exclusive offers. With the festive season coming into play, a significant seasonal spike was noted toward the end of the year, emphasizing the influence of holiday gift-giving on demand. Smartphones also had a considerable impact on the market. The integration of high-quality cameras in these devices has been a determinative factor for a quarter of the German populace when considering the purchase of a new phone. As the smartphone market has matured, there has.### Key Market Players Shaping the German Online Photo Album Landscape In the flourishing German online photo album market, a number of key players have established themselves as prominent forces, contributing to the market's rapid expansion and diversity of offerings. Even without specific turnover figures, we can highlight the impact and presence these companies have in this domain. **Fujifilm** – As a globally recognized brand, Fujifilm has a strong foothold in the photography industry. Their entry into the online photo album market leverages their reputation for quality and innovation. The company provides a range of customizable photo book services that harness advanced printing technologies, allowing consumers to preserve their memories with professional finesse. **Cewe**, including **Whitewall** – Cewe is a major player in the European photofinishing market and has further solidified its presence with the acquisition of Whitewall, a leading online provider for high-quality photo products. Whitewall is known for its gallery-standard photo prints, and Cewe offers a variety of personalized print products, making them a major name in the photo album segment. **PosterXXL** – A specialist in personalized photo products, PosterXXL offers an array of customizable items including photo albums. Their user-friendly online platform allows customers to effortlessly design and order high-quality photo books, which has helped them become one of the go-to services for personalized photo items. **Pixelnet**, part of the **Orwonet Group** – As a service under the Orwonet Group, Pixelnet brings to the table a German heritage of quality printing. They offer a spectrum of photo products, with a special focus on providing user-friendly services for creating personalized photo albums, all while maintaining competitive prices. **Fotokasten**, under the **Elanders Group** – Fotokasten is another significant competitor that promises a bespoke photo book experience. Being part of the large, Swedish Elanders Group, Fotokasten benefits from substantial logistical and technological backing, ensuring high-quality products and customer satisfaction. **Pixum** – Completing the list is Pixum, an online service that is dedicated to personalised photo products. Their offering includes a range of photo albums that can be tailored to the needs and creative leanings of their customers, all made available through an intuitive online interface. These companies exemplify the vibrant and competitive nature of the German online photo album market. With a blend of global giants, large groups, and specialized services, it's clear that the market is characterized by a dynamic interplay of creativity, technology
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Summary and extracts

1 Market overview

1.1 Definition and scope of study

The online photo album: is a online customizable photo book service or via software, which the site then edits and delivers to the customer. This market is very dynamic because the object lends itself particularly well to online sales: the customer can take the time to create the object of his dreams, from his home, without any external constraints

The global market is experiencing strong growth, synchronized with the growth of online sales more generally. It is expected to reach 27 billion in 2027 . The European and American markets are buoyant, as the service is particularly popular there.

The German market is also growing at an annual growth rate, over the period 2015 - 2018 of 5.19% . In 2019, 8.98 million photo albums were sold across the country. As such, this market follows the good dynamics of its French and English neighbours, for whom a study has been carried out Businesscoot is also available

The market is highly fragmented, due to very low barriers to entry. Nevertheless, it is now in a phase of consolidation, with the takeover of dynamic sites by large groups and the arrival of certain GAFAMs in the sector. Thus, competition is putting pressure on prices, which remain rather low.

The offer is diversifying, from the creation of a simple personalised photo album, to the creation of ever more original albums and finally, printing on other media (magnet, t-shirt, calendar, etc.). In fact, many sites also offer various products that can be personalized with photos, another segment: the photo merchandising also very dynamic in Germany, and with higher added value than the former

1.2 A global market with high potential

The growth of online photo albums is largely due to the growth in online sales and the fact that this product is particularly suitable for this purpose. The freedom and flexibility that characterizes these products combined with the design potential, (***) are expected to stimulate market growth.

This graph shows the revenues of the global photo printing and merchandising market in **** and provides a forecast for ****. In ****, the global photo printing and merchandising market was worth US$**.** billion.

The global photo printing market World, ****-****, in billions of USD Source: ****

The photo printing market is changing due to the development of technology on a global scale. Purchases of personalized products through photo printing services are contributing to the growth of the global photo printing market. The portfolio of products and services for processing, storing, transferring, displaying and archiving photographs is constantly expanding

The global online photo album market has therefore been growing strongly for several years and is still in an upward phase. It may be that the large number of specialized companies is tending to diminish to make way for larger entities. A good visibility on the Internet combined with an optimal quality of service should ensure a promising future for ...

1.3 A growing German market

The data and estimates in this section were established before the Covid crisis-**

The Photoindustry Verbrand PIV (***) reports in **** and **** on the main elements of the photographic services market in Germany.

In ****, *.** million photo albums were published and sold in the country, *.*% more than the year before, this figure was estimated at *.** million for ****. The graph below shows the evolution of sales in value of photo albums and photo-derivative products

Size of the album and photo merchandising market Germany, ****-*****, in millions of euros Source: ****

The German market is therefore growing rapidly, with a CAGR for photo albums over the period **** - **** of *.**%. The derivative products segment is also very dynamic with a CAGR of *.**% over the same period. *** million in ****, was expected to reach *** million euros in ****.

Size of the online photo items market (***)

In ****, sales of albums and photo items amounted to *** million euros (***) can be deduced with the following calculation:

C = A x B = *** x *.*** = EUR ***.** million

Thus, in ****, the online market for photographic merchandise (***) will achieve the following results ***.* million in sales

C = *** x *.*** = ***.**

This gives us a market size for online photo albums in Germany of *** million [***]

2 Demand Analysis

2.1 E-commerce in Germany

L'association professionnelle d'Allemagne (***) publie dans son Online Monitor **** les chiffres du E-commerce du pays. Ainsi, le graphique ci-dessous rapporte l'évolution des ventes réalisées en ligne. 

Évolution des ventes en ligne en valeur (***) Allemagne, ****-****, en milliards d'euros Source: ****

Les ventes en ligne aux particuliers dans le monde gagnent de l'importance d'année en année, et l'Allemagne ne fait pas exception à la règle. Elles ont triplé en près de ** ans, pour atteindre ** milliards d'euros en ****. 

Le rapport révèle également, que le segment autre que nourriture a connu une croissance moyenne annuelle de **,* % de ****, à ****. Le commerce en ligne représente désormais ** % des ventes en détail allemandes tous circuits confondus. C'est cette explosion de la vente en ligne qui voit les ventes d'albums photo augmenter. Les Allemands achètent de plus en plus en ligne, et l'album photo est un produit qui se prête particulièrement bien à ce type de vente. [***]

En ****, Idealo a publié une étude s'intitulant E-commerce Trends ****. Dans cette étude, idealo rapporte les habitudes de consommation en ligne des Allemands. 

À quelle fréquence faites-vous des achats en ligne ? Allemagne, ****, en % Source: ****

Les données personnelles : freins avant l'achat

Dans ...

2.2 Factors that drive demand

The sale of smartphones

The PIV website reports that for **% of the German population, the presence of a good/better camera is a decisive criterion when buying a new smartphone. Smartphone sales are therefore strongly linked to the sector. The chart below reports the turnover of smartphones in Germany as well as the volume of smartphones sold

Global smartphone market, value and volume Germany, ****-*****, in billions of euros and millions of smartphones Source: ****

Since the peak in ****, the German market has been saturated. Indeed, it seems that the German market has changed this year from a supply market to a renewal market. The vast majority of the German population is equipped with a smartphone, and the main purchases come from customers who already have a smartphone. Nevertheless, if we do not find a similar decline in sales value, it is because the smartphones purchased are now of higher value. Germans are buying fewer smartphones, but are buying more expensive smartphones

Christmas gifts: the seasonality of the market

Interest in online photo albums seems to be very high during the holidays, as shown in the graph below. It represents the interest in the term "fotoalbum" on Google. A value of *** represents ...

3 Market structure

3.1 Towards market consolidation

Une foule d'acteurs

En Allemagne, le marché est fragmenté entre une grande multiplicité d'acteurs. Les faibles barrières à l'entrée font que beaucoup de sites proposent des tirages photos, et plus particulièrement des albums, néanmoins, on peut supposer qu'avec l'intérêt grandissant que la demande porte au secteur, cette offre va se stabiliser pour se concentrer sur quelques principaux acteurs. 

Le fonctionnement des sites est toujours le même : le site propose un logiciel d'édition qui permet, une fois téléchargé, à partir d'un smartphone ou d'un ordinateur, de réaliser une maquette de l'album photo souhaité. La plupart des sites proposent aussi l'édition directement en ligne, mais le logiciel reste l'option la plus prisée, pour pouvoir sauvegarder son travail et continuer plus tard sans risquer de tout perdre.

Les acteurs principaux sont Poster XXL, Whitewall, My Fujifilm, Cewe, Pixum, Pixelnet et Fotokasten.

Le site similarweb permet de comparer le trafic des différents acteurs et de dresser le classement suivant :

Source: ****

Un logiciel leader

En réalité, tous les sites qui proposent la livraison d'album photo, ne diffèrent que par de petites choses.  Cela s'explique par le fait que la plupart d'entre eux, ...

3.2 The logistics of the first kilometre

La logistique du premier kilomètre est un concept de la vente en ligne, qui correspond à toutes les étapes qui surviennent depuis la réception de la commande sur un site Internet, jusqu'à la prise en charge par le transporteur. Elle peut se résumer en l'ensemble d'étapes suivantes : réception de la commande, traitement, préparation des colis, emballage, dépôt et enfin, retrait de la commande par le transporteur. 

La gestion du premier kilomètre est un levier de croissance crucial pour les petites et moyennes entreprises qui ne disposent pas forcément des moyens logistiques ou des volumes d'expédition nécessaires pour bénéficier de solutions compétitives et de tarifs avantageux. 

PostNord, la première entreprise de logistique en Suède, déclare : "Le premier kilomètre est un facteur déterminant de la satisfaction du client, car il se polarise en une expérience positive ou négative. Le seul point de contact physique entre un commerçant en ligne et ses clients est la livraison ; le premier kilomètre s'avère être le défi majeur pour les PME-TPE dans le domaine du commerce électronique. En ****, on a constaté que ** % des ...

4 Analysis of the offer

4.1 A diversified offer

Competition has led to a great diversity in supply. While album publishing software is often similar, the competition is in the form, printing method, number of pages, size and materials used. The photo album as such is available for different events (***)

The different formats

It is futile to try to list all the formats available online. Nevertheless, the most standard formats offered by most sites are the following: portraits, landscapes, (***).

The different covers

Rigid : A robust result that gives a long life to the album; Flexible : A cheap option, which allows some flexibility of the page ; Leather : Black or brown, leather in addition to being a quality protection and an element of style that gives value to the object ; Lin Woven Linen : Woven linen, allows a variety of colors and gives a family aspect to the object, without affecting its quality ;

The different types of paper

The following are listed:

The paper standard *** g / m² (***) offers crisp, clear photos The glossy paper  *** g / m² (***) offers better colors and more sharpness than the standard The p semi-shiny finial  *** g / m², high-end paper for superior quality photos and text ;

Source: ****

Finally, some sites play on design: the site myphotobook.de offers two design ...

4.2 Typology of market prices

A typology of average prices can be made by comparing the different websites of the industry leaders in Germany. The table below is an observation made in September ****, prices may have changed since then

In fact the price offer is slightly opaque, many sites do not reveal the exact price until all the parameters have been taken into account. For some sites, prices vary greatly depending on the number of pages. It can be interesting for the customer to compare the different offers to be sure to get the best price.

Source: ****

5 Regulation

5.1 Regulations

The German law governing online business management is defined in a number of different regulations. Some of them are specific to online business, while others apply to all business activities. The main regulations are as follows:

The European Directive ****/**/EU consolidates existing consumer protection legislation, offering consumers a number of new rights and remedies; The General Data Protection Regulations (***), which governs how a company should treat personal data of its customers, including the provision of mandatory information online, the obligations and liability of content and hosting providers, with the aim of increasing trust and confidence in the digital economy ; The eU directive on electronic commerce of ****, the Directive was introduced to clarify and harmonise the rules for online trade across Europe with the aim of boosting consumer confidence. It governs the way online businesses communicate with any potential customer who accesses their website; Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, **** It governs the specific consent of the customer regarding the use of cookies on the user's device. The directive ****/**/EU which aims to increase consumer protection by harmonising several key aspects of national legislation on contracts between customers and sellers ; The European Directive **/*/EC and provides legal protection for consumers who purchase goods ...

6 Positioning of the players

6.1 Segmentation

  • Cewe
  • Fotokasten
  • PosterXXL
  • Whitewall
  • Fujifilm
  • Photobox
  • Pixum
  • Ifolor

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