There isn’t a lot of research data about the wireless digital picture frame market right now outside of the work being done by Parks Associates, but the data that is out there makes fairly clear: women are the key market for wireless frames right now.
Here’s what we know:
So, since women are the key market segment, how are wireless digital picture frame manufacturers going to pursue women?
Pandigital clearly has some of the right ideas: they’re selling their frames not only through the traditional consumer electronics channels, but also at places that women shop more often than men: Linens N Things, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and Macy’s, among others. I’d expect that other manufacturers will see Pandigital’s success with this strategy and duplicate it.
But there’s a lot more to marketing wireless digital frames to women than where the frames are sold.
One way in which manufacturers can appeal more to women is through the design of their marketing, packaging, and products. Much of what I’ve seen manufacturers doing in these areas is fairly standard consumer electronics fare: there’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s not specifically targeting women either. That may need to change.
Frame design will especially be an issue with women, I think. If you’re a manufacturer who assumes that your initial market is the early-adopter technologist, who is usually male, the look of the frame is less important (sorry to say, but the hardcore geek isn’t well known for attention to style). But if women are your market the look of a frame matters more. I don’t know that we’ve seen this market recognition reflected in frame design yet, but I think we will.
The importance of women may also drive the kinds of content that becomes available for wireless picture frames. If you’re trying to get women to buy your frame, offering RSS feeds related to home improvement, style, celebrity news, Grey’s Anatomy, or whatever else your market research tells you women are interested in could drive sales.
Christmas 2007 is going to be an important event for the wireless frame market. Since women tend to drive most home goods purchases, I suspect that at least some of what determines success this Christmas will be who best caters to the female customer.
More than 112,000 digital picture frames were sold in the week leading up to Mother’s Day, according to new data released by market research firm The NPD Group. The total value of these sales was nearly US$12 million.
According to NPD, 7-inch frames were the most popular frames, and the average selling price for the 7-inch devices was down to just US$81. Overall average selling prices were at US$106. Both figures were large drops - over $50 in both cases - from the same period last year.
The total number of available frame products tracked by NPD rose from 13 to 70 this year, according to the company.
These numbers are of particular interest because they indicate the continued and growing importance of women to the digital picture frame market.
Pandigital told us that 78% of their customers - and remember, they’ve sold more frames than anyone else - are women. That information, combined with NPD’s data, seems to make clear that women are going to be a key, if not the most central, market for digital picture frames for at least the near term.
Which manufacturers and marketers will see this and act on it first? It could be the difference between success and failure.
In our interview with Dean Finnegan, CEO of Pandigital, the company that sold over 520,000 digital photo frames in 2006, he said that 78% of his customer are women. That means that in 2006, over 405,000 women bought digital picture frames. When you look at a number like that, you have to pay attention, and maybe it has to change your strategy.
It’s led me to wonder: Are women the key to wireless frame success?
According to various sources, women drive as much as 75-80% of purchases of home goods. When you combine that figure with those supplied by Finnegan, it seems that perhaps the assumptions about the wireless photo frame customer to date have been wrong.
Previously, the assumed profile of the wireless frame customer, at least in the early stages of this market, was something like:
- Male
- Very technically savvy
- Knows a lot about computers
- Likes gadgets
- Early adopter
But perhaps that’s all wrong. Perhaps the profile that should be used by companies that want to succeed in the space is something more like:
- Female
- Wife and mother
- Knows some about computers
- Cares about style and photos
- Wants an easy-to-use product
If this profile is actually the key to success in this market, or at least near-term success, manufacturers are going to need to change their assumptions and efforts in areas like
- Product style - an empahsis on good looking products, products that look like home goods not gadgets
- Interface design - ease of use will be much more important
- Marketing - the products will need to be marketed to women, not men
- Retail channels - Forget Best Buy, get those things into department and home goods stores
which could make for a pretty serious reversal in wireless frame business to date.
Readers, what do you think? How many of you are women? How many wireless frame owners do you know who are female?
