Digital cameras today have a bigger memory, longer battery life, better image quality and more functions than ever compared to the first ones on the market around ten years ago. The most important factor though has to be the fact that the price of these cameras have become so low that there is a model available for any budget. Who would have thought that the progress of digital photography could change the course of shopping trends? We take a look at the impact photo greeting cards have had on the greeting card industry.

Because the digital format produces a picture that can be transferred as a file rather than as a physical medium, it is much easier and cheaper to send a copy of an image to an image processing facility. Due to the ease of emailing or saving to CD or flash drive and the advances in printing techniques, it has become possible to offer consumers a wide variety of products on which they can have images printed.

It seems that it is creating a personal touch that people want, the chance to give a bespoke gift. As such putting unique images on a multitude of materials has become a favourite way to show a person that someone is thinking of them. This has undoubtedly had an enormous effect on consumer shopping trends as everyone becomes their own designer.

The greetings card industry has tried to increase its hold on the market by specialising in specific events throughout the year. Although it is possible to buy a card for any person and any occasion, there is nothing available in a shop that is as personal as photo greeting cards. Uploading and printing a set of cards for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries or as birth announcements is a new phenomena, and the epitome of sending a well thought personal greeting.

To counteract this trend, some card companies are encouraging budding photographers to send in their images which the card publishers will then customise to create bespoke photo greeting cards in the customers behalf. This is certainly a stoical opportunity to corner the opportunities present within a niche market. But will it be able to hold its ground and deliver a service that consumers want?

It is difficult to say how the greetings card industry will keep hold of the consumer market especially as creating personalised cards quickly and easily from digital media becomes increasingly cheap and even more popular.

Dom Donaldson is a photography expert. Find out more about Photo Greeting Cards and the other products available for digital photo printing at Cewe Photo World.

Tags: digital photography, photography, hobbies, photo greeting cards, greetings cards