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America Online's Digital Pictures Survey Finds That Instant Gratification Factor Tops List Of What Consumers Love Most About Digital Photography

6/6/2004

America Online's Digital Pictures Survey Finds That Instant Gratification Factor Tops List Of What Consumers Love Most About Digital Photography

The Ability to See Images Instantly, Print Images Whenever They Want and Share Images Easily With Friends and Family Are Favorite Benefits
Number One Method For Sharing Digital Photos Today is Online

Digital Cameras Beat Out Sunscreen, a Good Book and Video Cameras as the Top Item Survey Respondents Must Have When Leaving for Vacation
Dulles, VA - May 11, 2004 - It's not the hottest page-turner or coolest PDA that most vacationers will be packing for their summer vacation this year. According to America Online's Digital Pictures Survey of digital camera owners, more than one-half of the respondents, 54 percent, won't leave for vacation without this hot little item: their digital camera. The choice ranked significantly higher than sunscreen, a good book, a video camera, an address book, a digital music player and PDA device.

The survey, which was conducted for AOL by Digital Marketing Services (DMS), uncovered additional findings and insights into consumer digital camera habits, including reasons for going digital, frequency of use and favorite online photo activities. According to the survey, the most popular benefit of going digital is the instant gratification of seeing an image right away. Thirty-two percent of respondents identified this as what they like most about their digital camera. The ability to print images whenever they want follows at 19 percent while the ability to share images easily rounds out the top three at 17 percent. The survey also found that overwhelmingly the preferred way to share these memorable photos with family and friends is online via e-mail. More than 70 percent of respondents share images this way.

"For more and more consumers, digital cameras are a must-have item that they simply can't leave home without," said Jeff Hooker, Director of the You've Got Pictures service at America Online. "Digital photography is all about instant gratification: the majority of consumers buy digital cameras because they want the ability to see an image as soon as they shoot it, easily share it with others, and increasingly they want to print these images whenever they want."

Mr. Hooker added: "The survey results underscore many of the trends we're seeing among our members and prove that for an online photo service to be truly valuable today it needs to offer everything people need to make the most of their picture-taking experience - from multiple options to share and print pictures to unlimited storage and the ability to access their stored albums from any computer."

America Online's Digital Photos Survey also uncovered other key findings regarding consumer digital camera use, photo habits and changing attitudes about digital cameras including:

Digital Cameras Rule!

* Close to one-third, 31 percent, of younger respondents (18-49), say they take pictures several times a week; however, more than 80 percent of all respondents say they take pictures at least once a month.

* Among those respondents with multiple cameras, digital film cameras are used most often than other types of cameras. Seventy-one percent of respondents said they use their digital film camera regularly or occasionally.

* About one-fourth of those surveyed, 29 percent, received their digital camera as a gift; the next biggest reason for purchasing a digital camera was an upcoming vacation.

* Over a quarter of respondents, 27 percent, say they take photos with their digital cameras 100 percent of the time while a third say they take pictures with their digital cameras most of the time.

* More than half of those surveyed, 64 percent, believe it is easier to use a digital camera now than in the last few years. In addition, 74 percent of those surveyed believe that the picture quality has improved.

Today's Digital Dark Room: Home

* Approximately 70 percent of those surveyed use a home printer to print their pictures.

* The ability to print pictures whenever they want is the second most popular feature of digital cameras (right behind the instant gratification factor of seeing an image right away).

* Thirty percent of those surveyed print their pictures at least once a week, while 42 percent print them at least once a month.

Digital Photos in the Broadband Media Era

* More than 70 percent of those surveyed share their pictures via e-mail and about one-fifth of respondents also share them via instant messages. Sharing images via instant message is particularly popular with younger respondents. Close to one third, 29 percent, of respondents aged 18 to 34, IM photos to friends and family.

* The two top digital media activities digital camera users do with their photos are creating screensavers on their PC, 37 percent, and creating personal photo albums, 34 percent.

* Other emerging popular activities include burning digital photo albums on CDs, 29 percent, creating digital slide shows, 23 percent, and posting pictures on online auction sites, 21 percent.

* Younger respondents (18-34) also indicated particular interest in using their digital pictures to customize screensavers for their mobile phone and posting pictures on online dating services. Close to one in ten respondents between the age of 18 and 34 identified these two activities as some of the things they do with digital photos.

Picture Storage Made Simple

* In terms of storage, 45 percent keep all their digital pictures on their computers' hard drive, 33 percent store them on other digital media, and 12 percent print them and organize them in a photo album.

* About 30 percent of respondents upload pictures from their camera at least once a week, while 39 percent upload them about once a month.

Summer 2004: Time for Family and Vacations

* Over 70 percent of those surveyed say they will likely photograph family this summer.

* Over one-third of respondents, 36 percent, say that vacations are their favorite occasion to use their digital cameras.

* Beyond using their digital camera to capture memorable moments with family members and friends, the next most popular reason people take photographs is for a holiday card/invitation (online and printed), 34 percent, followed by tasks specific for their work/business, 30 percent, items to post on an online auction, 30 percent, archiving valuable/irreplaceable items in their home, 26 percent, and for a school project, 19 percent.

Today AOL also announced the availability of a new Home Printing feature as a part of its You've Got Pictures(r) online photo service. (See accompanying press release: "America Online's You've Got Pictures Service Introduces New Home Printing Feature")

Methodology

This survey was conducted from April 8 through April 12, 2004, through OpinionPlace, an online research site operated by DMS. OpinionPlace utilizes real-time, randomized assignment of respondents to surveys based on a scientifically proven process. A total of 511 respondents were interviewed. The screening qualifications for this study were males and females who personally own and use a digital camera.

About the You've Got Pictures Service

AOL's You've Got Pictures service is a full-featured online photo service for digital and film cameras that offers users easy-to-use options for storing, organizing, printing, accessing and sharing their photos. The service is available at no additional charge as a benefit for AOL and AOL for Broadband members. Once photos are stored and organized on the You've Got Pictures service, users can access their photos and albums from any computer through the AOL.com(r) Web site and safely share favorite pictures with anyone on the Internet without having to download attachments. Other key features of the You've Got Pictures service include: unlimited photo storage; an integrated Picture Finder; easy one-click picture editing; the ability to create personal screensavers and slide shows; built-in home printing features; and more. More information on the You've Got Pictures service can be found at AOL(r) Keyword: Pictures.