Main points of the text
1. Fujifilm's recently released new machine X100VI has become a hit, consumers are hard to find, many people buy at a premium, Fujifilm camera in the second-hand market high value retention, making it a veritable "electronic Moutai".
2. Fujifilm cameras are known for their retro design and built-in film texture filters, which differentiate themselves in the market, meet consumers' needs for retro style, and are very friendly to novices.
3. The popularity of Fujifilm cameras and the recovery of the digital camera market in recent years reflect the preference of young consumers for "self-pleasing" consumption, and they are willing to invest in hobbies and personalized expressions, which is in line with the current trend of "hobby consumption" and "self-pleasing economy".
"Electronic Moutai" was first used on social media to describe the Huawei Mate X5 phone, as the price of the product rose rapidly shortly after its release, thanks to its configuration design and market influence, showing a similar investment collection value as Moutai. Nowadays, the term is used by many young people to refer to Fujifilm cameras.
On February 20 this year, Fujifilm officially released a new generation of X-series compact camera X100VI, and opened a limited pre-sale on JD.com. According to the product page of JD.com's flagship store, consumers need to make an appointment and the lottery is successful before they can be eligible to purchase, and after the reservation began, the number of reservations soared to 300,000 units in just 24 hours.
Image source: The brand's official website
The price of the new camera is 11,390 yuan, an increase of 1,600 yuan from the previous generation. In today's camera market, the head brands Canon, Nikon, etc. have launched full-frame cameras below 10,000 yuan, and X100VI as a rangefinder camera priced at more than 10,000 yuan is still sold out.
Image source: Xiaohongshu
So, what are the reasons behind the popularity of Fujifilm cameras, and what changes in consumer psychology are reflected in the hot camera market?
01 From tepid to "electronic Moutai"
In the film era, Fujifilm was as famous for film as Kodak, and won the hearts of photography professionals and enthusiasts around the world for its excellent film technology and color science.
After entering the digital age, Fujifilm has made strategic adjustments in line with market changes, but compared with other brands, it has been in a tepid state, and when the SLR was popular, the products could not compete with Canon and Nikon.
In 2018, when Sony's flagship full-frame mirrorless (mirrorless) became a real productivity tool for photographers, and all digital camera manufacturers believed that "full-frame" was the future, Fujifilm remained unmoved, stumbling on the mid-format and X-trans sensors, and at the same time the price soared, it seemed that it did not want to compromise with the consumer market that pursued cost-effectiveness.
The turning point began in 2019, when Fujifilm began to strictly restrict the pricing of channel providers, avoid the inversion of the market price and the official price, and punish the merchants who sell Fuji products cheaply in the market, thereby effectively alleviating the pressure of rapid depreciation of electronic products after they are launched, and improving the image and reputation in the minds of consumers.
It didn't take long for the half-frame camera X-S10 launched by Fujifilm to be sold at a price far below market expectations, and it swiped a wave of favorability, and the initial price of the superimposed coupon was only 6499 yuan, which has no rival in the same price segment.
Subsequently, under the impact of the epidemic on the supply chain, the brand announced a price increase, and the dual impact of channel control and short supply made Fujifilm Camera rise instead of falling in the second-hand market, and it has become a veritable "electronic Moutai".
Whether it is the evergreen X-S10 or the X100VI, which is hard to find today, Fujifilm cameras, which have been hyped in the second-hand market, are becoming a new type of financial product for young people by virtue of their value preservation characteristics.
Sales trends of Fujifilm cameras on mainstream e-commerce platforms from April 2023 to March 2024
Data source: Magic Mirror Analysis+
Mojing Analysis + data shows that in the past rolling year, Fujifilm Camera's sales on mainstream e-commerce platforms reached 3.46 billion yuan, an increase of 30.8% over the previous year, becoming the fastest growing brand among the top 3 brands.
02 Fujifilm camera became popular, what did you do right?
Nowadays, market giants such as Canon and Nikon have full-frame products under 10,000 yuan, with higher configurations and lower prices, why does Fujifilm "dare" sell a sideshaft for more than 10,000 yuan?
First of all, the lack of production capacity has exacerbated the shortage of cameras in the market, making popular models even more scarce. According to the 2023 global digital camera shipment data released by the International Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA) in Japan, the total annual shipments will be 7.72 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 3.6%, which is not only behind the manufacturer's own production capacity, but also affected by the global chip shortage, camera manufacturers need to compete with mobile phone manufacturers for a few raw material resources.
Scarcity not only makes Fujifilm cameras "electronic Moutai", Ricoh GR series has also become a value preservation artifact, and cameras with better condition in the second-hand market can even be sold at a price higher than the original price.
Young consumers have awakened to their financial literacy and can gain a sense of security and positive expectations for the future by purchasing products with potential value-added potential. In a way, the popularity of Fuji is similar to the popular "gold bean" trend some time ago.
And more importantly, in addition to the channel governance mentioned above, the core of Fuji's victory lies in insisting on making differentiated products. Fujifilm's cameras have always been very capable in terms of exterior design, and the retro body design continues the mechanical texture of the film machine era.
Image source: Xiaohongshu
Fujifilm cameras have become one of the most retro popular items nowadays, not only because of their appearance, but also because of the built-in variety of film texture filters. In recent years, the retro film style has become popular again in the photography circle, and the threshold for real film photography is high, and if you want to restore the texture of film through digital, you need a certain amount of post-production skills.
Fujifilm camera's built-in film filters can easily respond to consumer demand for film style. Taking Fujifilm X100VI as an example, this product is equipped with 20 kinds of film simulation filters, which can almost achieve the original film directly, reducing the difficulty of shooting, eliminating the cumbersome post-production process, and is very friendly to novices.
Image source: The brand's official website
According to Mojing social listening, in the past rolling year, the discussion of Fujifilm camera on mainstream social media has increased by 187.2% year-on-year, with nearly 620,000 content voices, and the proportion of young people under the age of 35 is more than eighty percent.
April 2023 - March 2024 Fujifilm Camera's crowd analysis on mainstream social media & original post
Source: Moojing Social Listening
In the current camera market, Fujifilm has formed a unique brand advantage with retro appearance and filters, and has become the new favorite of young photography enthusiasts, and it is difficult to find a machine in the market.
Judging from the feedback of consumers, the design and photographic effect are the main aspects of consumers' purchase decisions, and the convenience of operation is also the element mentioned by many users. Also on the market are Nikon Zfc and the Z5, which is positioned as an entry-level full-frame.
April 2023 - March 2024 Fujifilm Camera Review Analysis on Tmall Platform
Source: Moojing Social Listening
A well-used camera is not only a tool to help them record their daily lives, but also a new medium for their consciousness and aesthetic expression.
After all, volume performance and parameters are only the pursuit of a few spire enthusiasts, for most of the beginner users, the outstanding appearance, the novice-friendly original picture is straight out, and the "subtle" planting of KOLs and celebrities on social platforms in recent years is enough to constitute a reason for consumers to want to become "rich children".
03 Pleasing oneself and interest consumption help the camera break the circle
The change in demand reflects the change in the consumption concept of a generation.
The consumption habits of the younger generation are very different from those of the past, and "pleasing oneself" is becoming the dominant consumption concept for them. Consumption not only satisfies basic material needs, but also projects their values and spiritual sustenance, becoming an important means to achieve personalized expression.
They are also keen to "generate electricity for love", and their consumption behavior is deeply influenced by their personal interests and hobbies. Many young people pursue a flat economy and are obsessed with poor ghost packages in their daily lives, but they can also spend a lot of money for hobbies, whether it is the once niche market Sankeng Hanfu or the smash hit blind box trendy toys.
According to iiMedia Research's survey data, in 2022, 64.9% of young consumers buy hobby consumer products to "please themselves", and another 43.8% have the purpose of "self-healing".
As the term "lipstick economy" suggests – in an era of slower economic growth and heightened uncertainty, people tend to give up large purchases such as houses and cars in favor of small luxury items or pay for experiences to gain psychological comfort.
Sales trends of the camera category on mainstream e-commerce platforms from April 2023 to March 2024
Data source: Magic Mirror Analysis+
The market has expanded further, and there are indeed more people buying cameras. According to Mojing Analysis + data, from April 2023 to March 2024, the market size of digital camera categories on mainstream e-commerce platforms will exceed 29.8 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth rate of nearly 16%, and the sales volume will be 13.575 million units, with a growth rate of 42.4%.
In addition, Sun Dongliang, vice president of Fujifilm (China) Investment Co., Ltd., once mentioned an important observation in an interview with Hard Krypton, "Ten years ago, the digital camera market was eaten away by mobile phones, but from another point of view, mobile phone brands are talking about the quality of photography when promoting products, and they are also doing basic education for user photography for camera brands." ”
In the second half of the competition, smartphone manufacturers are almost emphasizing the advantages of mobile phones in photography and video scenes, so that many ordinary consumers have a basic understanding of various parameters and terms. Combined with the impact of the epidemic, people pay more attention to their emotional and spiritual needs, and photography is no longer just a niche need.
More and more people are beginning to pick up cameras to record their daily lives, and the growth of vlog camera sales is a confirmation, according to Mojing analysis +, the market size of the main vlog camera on the mainstream platform in the past rolling year reached 5.76 billion yuan, an increase of 56.1% year-on-year.
Sales trend of vlog cameras on mainstream e-commerce platforms from April 2023 to March 2024
Data source: Magic Mirror Analysis+
And this part of the novices who have just entered the photography circle,It is the key to leverage the market increment,In the past, the product upgrade model of continuous piling up parameters and stacking performance may not be able to adapt to the current environment,And the high-price strategy is also difficult to respond to consumer demand in the long term,After all, for most users, the low and medium price segment below 8000 yuan is their comfort zone。
In the past few years, due to the impact of the supply chain, the camera market has generally raised prices, and the asymmetry between supply and demand has given rise to "electronic Moutai" such as Fujifilm.