Is the Photo Booth Hire Trend Dead?

For the last 10 years having a photo booth at an event whether it be a Wedding, Birthday Party, School Formal, Charity Fundraiser or Corporate event has been trending exponentially upwards. This has been equally mirrored by the rise in the number of photo booth operators and styles of photo booths on offer. Recent data is showing however that this trend is changing.

A quick look at the below data from Google Trends shows that in Australia up until about 2013/14 there was amazing growth in the number of people searching for the base keyword "photo booth hire". The last 2 years however have seen a plateau and even a slight downward trend in the over all searches being performed by people looking to hire a photo booth.

If we take a look at the same data for the US where they primarily use the term "photo booth rental" we see an almost identical picture. The US photo booth industry is a few years older and much larger than that of Australia and we can see that their plateau started slightly sooner but appears stable.

What does this all mean? 

If you're a photo booth operator this isn't great news but it isn't necessarily terrible either. This plateauing happens in all emerging industries and the data isn't indicating a downward spiral or any real reason to panic. What it should tell you as an operator is that the pie isn't getting bigger so you are going to have to work harder and smarter than your competition.

This is actually a good thing for the industry as we have an oversupply of photo booth operators which have driven down prices in recent years and allowed a few bad eggs into the mix. As the low hanging fruit fall off the tree so to speak those truly great operators will begin in the next few years to be able to increase their market share and secure their place on the Australian photo booth hire landscape.

For the general public this trend is currently working in their favour. Photo booth hire operators are having to offer better value deals to secure your business so there has never been a better time to be in the market to hire a photo booth for a Wedding, Corporate Event, Birthday Party, School Formal, Charity Fundraiser or whatever event you deem fit for the fun that comes with hiring a photo booth.

If you need help finding great local operators with the best value deals be sure to use the Photobooth Finder search.

What can I do to ensure the future of my Photo Booth Hire business?

Whether or not you are already running a successful photo booth hire business or you're working your way there, if you want to stick around for the long game you are going to need to use every advantage and opportunity you can. The old business adage goes "you have to spend money to make money" but the trick is to make sure you are spending it, and your just as valuable time, on the right things. The things that are going directly or indirectly make you money and/or attribute to your success. A combination of a well thought out balanced marketing strategy, knowing your target market together with ensuring you have your finger on the pulse with regards to local competition and your clients are essential. 

If you are in doubt about how well prepared your business is for the future or if you just want to hone and refine your position or take more control over what is happening in your business one of the best things I can recommend you consider is spending a little time and money to attend Boothcon. Boothcon is the industries only educational event to help photo booth operators.

At Boothcon you will learn from the industries best speakers, these people have a reputation for success built on the fact that they know exactly where their business is and where it is heading. The information they are going to impart on operators on a multitude of topcs is beyond invaluable. If you are serious about running a successful photo booth hire business for years to come regardless of trends then this is not an event to miss.

To learn more about Boothcon and the current confirmed speakers or to register visit the website http://www.boothcon.com.au/

Happy Boothin!

Disclaimer: While every caution has been taken to provide readers with most accurate information and honest analysis, please use your discretion before taking any decisions based on the information in this blog. Author will not compensate you in any way whatsoever if you ever happen to suffer a loss/inconvenience/damage because of/while making use of information in this blog.

(Photo Booth Blogger: Justin Jowett)