Defying slowing adoption rates for smartphones, Thailand's advanced mobile device-based photography has seen significant growth thanks to the popularity of professional-looking photo and video shoots among Thai consumers.
"We expect double-digit growth for mobile device accessories, especially extraordinary growth for smartphone gimbal stabilisers," said Chanin Manochayakorn, co-founder of Phantom Thailand, the importer of Chinese drone and smartphone stabiliser brand DJI.
Mr Chanin said Thailand has a strong smartphone penetration rate with many social media users, including 40 million Facebook users.
The adoption of live-streaming video in Thailand has jumped in recent years with the rise of apps and new features likes Facebook Live, boosted by increasing preference for shooting photos online.
In the first half, Mr Chanin said more than 73 million photos and videos were uploaded worldwide, with the average user taking 150 photos a month.
To capitalise on surging demand, Phantom Thailand recently introduced the DJI Osmo handheld stabiliser for Apple's iPhone 7 and Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, priced at 12,700 baht.
Target users are bloggers, video bloggers and YouTubers, Mr Chanin said.
He said the local drone market continues to grow, fuelled by lower prices and broader usage of drones by large companies for surveying, construction inspection, agriculture and photography.
"The local drone market is expected to reach 400-600 million baht this year," Mr Chanin said.
Phantom Thailand recently opened its first flagship store at Siam Discovery to extend its reach to younger consumers.
Banphot Vatanasombut, managing director of RTB Technology, Thailand's leading distributor of gadgets for the mobile lifestyle, said the local saturated smartphone market has inevitably affected the mobile phone accessories market.
Smartphone chargers, wall chargers and power banks are expected to see flat growth this year.
However, he said camera lenses for smartphones, closed-circuit TV monitoring by smartphones and fridge cams will grow significantly.
Mr Banphot said Apple's move to ditch the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and promote wireless Bluetooth headphones will also drive strong demand for wireless headphones.
Paramate Rienjaroensuk, president of Copperwired Co, the operator of iStudio and Dot Life shops, said the smartphone has become the singular consumer-oriented computing platform in everyday life.
Action cameras for sports and recreation, smartwatches, fitness trackers, drones and Internet of Things-based devices will see lucrative growth with high demand, he said.