Supply issues easing amidst economic angst

THE MAIN headline in our news round-up last Christmas was, 'Retailer challenges remain, but positive signs, and in many ways it's a similar story this year.

While the threat of further Covid lockdowns has receded, the camera industry still faces many challenges, not least the continuing pressure on UK household budgets. The Ukraine war drags on, while rising interest rates and inflation are delivering a double whammy to investment by camera makers and consumer confidence. Meanwhile, the elephant in the room - the popularity of smartphones - has not gone away. In the past six months we've seen some great new phones for photography, notably the competitively priced Google Pixel 7 and 6A, and the iPhone 14 Pro. Chinese smartphone makers Oppo and Honor are also ramping up their camera features and pushing hard for a bigger UK market share.

Supply and demand