What happened to the consumer drone market?

What happened to the consumer drone market? This is a question that seems to keep coming back. Where did the hobbyist drone pilot go? Looking at different sources of information, you could argue that the consumer drone market peaked somewhere in 2016. Let's check in with the DroneAnalyst for some more up-to-date background info and context.

What happened to the consumer drone market?

Apart from the consumer drone market peaking in 2016, this year (and last year btw) have not been particularly great for the consumer drone market. Let's take a closer look at what might be going on here.

“Looking at just the FAA US aerospace forecast from 2017, the industry has quickly dropped to34% behind the base growth forecast in 2019,” says the DroneAnalyst.

“We break down the consumer drone market trends in this post and look at some new data that shows the COVID-19 global pandemic might have a positive impact,” according to the DroneAnalyst.

The consumer drone market has been fiercely competitive, oftentimes driven by the world's largest drone manufacturer, DJI that kept releasing ever more capable drones at ever lower prices. At times even competing with its own products. The recent launch of the DJI Mavic Air 2 is a great example of this.

Along the way, some competitors left the drone market entirely (GoPro), while many others started to solely focus on the commercial drone market (3DR, and Parrot). The commercial or enterprise drone market is less price-sensitive and may seem to be more attractive in the eyes of companies like Skydio, Parrot, and others. Meanwhile, DJI seems to stay focussed on both the consumer and the commercial drone market.

The following illustration from the DroneAnalyst provides great insight into how the price of new and more capable drones kept going down during the last few years.

“As new competitors entered the market, DJI remained one step ahead, releasing products at a comparable or superior performance with lower prices. At the same time, DJI better covered the entire market with a variety of new offerings, both lowering and increasing prices simultaneously to attract a wider range of customers,” says the DroneAnalyst.

While 2020 was off to a slow start there might have been some COVID-19 related interest in drones and the actual buying of new unmanned aircraft.

If you're interested in more detailed information about the consumer drone market be sure to check out the entire post on the DroneAnalyst website. I predict that as soon as DJI launches the highly-anticipated DJI Mavic 3, we will see another bump up.

Be sure to fill in the drone market survey and possibly win a DJI Mavic Mini!

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