Camera Sales Surged in Japan in 2024

Jan 13, 2025

Jeremy Gray

$Two digital cameras are displayed side by side against a blue fractal background. The left camera is a Canon EOS R5 without a lens, and the right camera is a Fujifilm X100V with a lens attached.$

Japanese retail analyst BCN+R released a new report showing that consumer electronics, including cameras, experienced a huge boom during 2024, especially at the very end of the year.

BCN+R’s report shows that digital cameras sold much better in 2024 than in 2023 across BCN+R’s Japanese retailer network, which includes sales data from more than 2,400 retailers both in-store and online.

During nine months in 2024, camera sales were up year-over-year, with the only dips appearing in August, September, and October. As the holiday season approached, camera sales improved again. In December 2024, sales volume for digital cameras was 123.7% of their level during the same month in 2023.

Bar chart comparing monthly sales volume changes for PCs, TVs, and cameras from December 2023 to December 2024. TVs show mostly positive trends, cameras fluctuate, and PCs often decline, with significant drops in January, March, and April 2024. — The yellow bar is for camera unit sales per month relative to the same month the prior year. A bar above 100% means sales increased year-over-year, while a bar below, like during August 2024, means that sales decreased relative to the same month the prior year. | Credit: BCN+R

“After losing a lot of sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, the camera market is recovering in the post-COVID era,” BCN+R explains. “There were times in the early fall when sales fell significantly below the previous year’s level, but they regained momentum in November and December and significantly exceeded last year’s level.”

BCN+R adds that compact cameras experienced excellent growth in 2024, mirroring what BCN+R said last November. “Compact cameras still account for more than 60% of the number of cameras sold,” BCN+R analyst Ichiro Michikoshi wrote last year.

December sales volume for cameras with built-in lenses was 132.7% its 2023 level during the same month, an impressive improvement. As for interchangeable lens cameras, BCN+R says sales volume has generally decreased as per-unit prices have increased. However, despite the general trend, slightly more interchangeable lens cameras were purchased in December 2024 compared to 2023.

BCN+R’s analysis also details the performance of some manufacturers, including Canon, who produced 25.5% of all cameras sold at retailers in BCN+R’s expansive Japanese network last year. Canon’s sales volume in 2024 was 151.4% of its 2023 level. Fujifilm landed in second place with an 18.6% market share.

The most surprising company with a strong 2024 was Kenko Tokina, which took full advantage of the surge in compact camera popularity. The company had the third-best market share; its total unit sales were 256.8% of their 2023 level. Kodak and Sony, in fourth and fifth positions, saw reduced unit sales volume in 2024 compared to the prior year.

Image credits: Featured image created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos.