2020 drone industry trends outlined in new DroneAnalyst Report
Today the DroneAnalyst issued its 2020 report on the Drone Industry trends. Let's jump in and take a closer look at how our industry fared during this tumultuous year.
2020 Drone industry trends outlined in new DroneAnalyst Report
David Benowitz, aka the DroneAnalyst, shared with DroneXL the findings of his 2020 Drone Market Sector Report, identifying trends and changes in the global drone industry. Here are the most important insights.
“Our 2020 report marks our most comprehensive look at the market to date and provides a look at both new trends such as COVID-19 and security concerns, as well as a historical look at trends since we began our annual reports in 2016,” said David Benowitz, Head of Research at DroneAnalyst.
Insight 1: Business Adoption Matures
- Growth and maturity of business and public agency usage of drones is significant, with growth concentrated in surveying / mapping, public safety, construction, agriculture and utilities/renewable inspection.
- We are seeing heavy growth in adoption across the European Union and India as new regulations are coming in place.
- Businesses and public agencies spent more on their drone operations in 2020 than in any previous year, with the largest growth in businesses spending more than $50K.
Insight 2: Security Concerns over Chinese-Made Products
- 27% of all drone buyers and 19% of service providers were impacted by claims about the security of Chinese-made products.
- Of the drone buyers impacted, 58% saw these claims slow or pause their purchases of drones, while the remaining 42% reported that they had moved to alternative products.
- Of the service providers impacted, 46% lost jobs or clients over these concerns and 54% had invested in alternative hardware to work around these concerns.
Insight 3: China's DJI Retains Market Leadership, But Shows Signs of Weakening
- DJI's Market Share
- DJI's share of the sUAS drone market dropped to 69%, from 74% in 2018, marking the first time we've seen their market share decrease since DroneAnalyst began collecting data in 2016.
- This drop was led by the North American market, where they were previously above their global share at 79% in 2018 and are now one point below their global share at 68%.
- Shifting Hardware Landscape
- Chinese players make up 77% of the market, followed by players across France and US, which make up just below 7% each.
- The US market is made up of several drone startups that have risen in just the past one to two years, led by Skydio. This is a big shift from just two years ago where 3D Robotics was the dominant American hardware player, and #3 hardware brand globally.
- A visual treemap of the main players market size, grouped by country of origin, can be found here.
The 2020 Drone Market Sector Report is based on an online survey that garnered over 1,300 respondents, representing 39 industries across 110 Countries, and a series of qualitative interviews. The research was supported by DroneDeploy. Our report uncovers insights from this dataset, with four sections that correspond to the four major segments of the drone industry:
- Drone aircraft and payloads purchased
- Service providers that offer drone-based imaging or sensing services for outside hire or sale
- Businesses and public agencies with drone programs
- Software apps or online services for drone operations and imaging
The report features 67 Figures and 10 Tables to uncover insights across these segments. The report's Table of Contents can be viewed here.
The 2020 Drone Market Sector Report can be purchased here.
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