Apple Inc. (AAPL) Among Others Killing Digital Camera Market?

Would you believe that digital camera sales are falling due to the increase in popularity of smartphones, such as the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone? While this may not make sense on the surface, as we dig deeper you will learn why this is the case.

According to information from The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, as noted by The Times of India, “trends show that 92 percent of the customers are now preferring high end mobile phones.”

In other words, consumer would rather opt for an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone, or some other type of smartphone with a high end camera, than pay for a digital camera that can only take pictures.

In a recent study entitled Digital camera vs. smart phones, The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India was quoted as saying:

“Smartphones are becoming the main camera of choice by a large number of people and increasingly more consumers are relying on their smartphones instead of compact digital cameras for both still photos and video capture.”

While this may mean bad news for the digital camera industry moving forward, it is great news for companies such as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) that rely so heavily on sales of smartphones.

Is it possible that smartphones will do to the digital camera market what it is already doing to desktop computers? While it may not move to this extreme, it is definitely something to keep an eye on.

For more information on just how bad things are getting, here is another nugget from the same study:

“…sales growth of digital cameras with heavy discounts has significantly declined by 20-25 percent in the last one year whereas the demand of smartphones has increased by over 150 percent.”

While Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and its iPhone are benefiting from this trend, in both emerging and mature markets, some camera companies are fighting back by lowering prices. This holds true with Canon, Nikon and Sony, with many more to follow if this trend continues down the same path.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India  Secretary General DS Rawat added the following: