Wave of innovative apps trigger consumers to engage more with their photos in fast-evolving ways
Increased photo engagement generates new opportunities as well as competitive threats for various photo ecosystem vendors
We all know it: today’s consumers take more photos than ever before. But do they actually engage with these photos? Or, do they simply glance at them, perhaps apply a quick filter, then post or forward them and promptly forget they exist?
For most consumers, photos end their short active lives in the digital equivalent of the proverbial dust-collecting shoebox. But things are about to change, according to The Photo Engagement Trends Report, a new study announced today by mobile photo research firm, Suite 48 Analytics, hosts of the annual Mobile Photo Connect conference.
Powerful technology innovations (deep learning, smartphones’ real-time processing capabilities), as well as creative approaches for addressing emerging user needs, have led to the development of new solutions that entice consumers to not only engage more with their photos than they’ve ever done before, but also to do so in ways we could not have imagined a mere twelve months ago, according to the study.
Covering more than 75 innovative photo apps and web services, The Photo Engagement Trends Report analyzes why and how consumers engage with their photos, describes what drives their photo engagement, and provides opportunity and risk analysis as well as strategy recommendations for all the major categories of vendors in the space: photo app developers, social media networks, digital camera vendors, cloud storage provides, photo print output vendors and photo retailers.
Fueled by artificial intelligence breakthroughs and innovations coming both from startup photo app developers and from established social media networks, rapid progress is being made on all fronts according to Hans Hartman, principal author of the report.
“Not only has it become much easier to aggregate, find and discover specific photos that you might enjoy (re-)viewing or sharing, but in addition the innovations that make it possible to creatively enhance your photos or embed them in rich-media visual stories are staggering – and are getting traction among consumers.”
Hartman continues, “With so much of the headaches eliminated from the challenges to visually express yourself or to retain your visual memories, consumers are now getting a broad range of choices for doing so – either on-the-go through the click of a button or by creative tinkering with their photos through ever-more powerful and automated tools.”