Why CVS and Walmart still print photos
Who needs to print photos anymore? Well, there is still demand from some customers: Photography services bring traffic into these retailers’ stores, especially during the holiday, graduation and wedding seasons.
More than 50% of photo prints made this year will come from a retail store, with total sales of about $786 million, said David Haueter, a longtime photo industry analyst and the founder of consulting and market research firm Rise Above Research.
Only about 4.2 billion 4”[ads1]; x 6” prints will be developed in stores this year, he added.
“People don’t print as much as they used to, but there are still people who like to print,” Haueter said.
Haueter said many consumers like to order photo prints and products at stores like CVS because they get the items immediately, with no shipping costs. They are often on their way to these pharmacies to pick up other things as well.
CVS offers photo services in about 7,600 stores. “We continue to see strong demand for this service – particularly around gift-giving seasons,” a spokesperson said.
More than 8,000 Walgreens stores offer photo services, said Raghu Valata, Walgreens senior director of digital commerce strategy and planning. “Holidays tend to be a busy time for our photography industry, with the highest foot traffic generally seen in December,” Valata said.
But at Walmart, on the other hand, about 3,700 stores have Fujifilm photo kiosks — usually located in the store’s electronics section — and they’re often put to use.
It’s a service that “customers use fairly regularly,” a Walmart spokesperson said, including people who may not have access to a computer to order prints online. “We maintain a healthy business year-round.”
