The annual global photo printing and merchandise market is expected to reach $3.12 billion by the end of 2026, according to the 2020 Photo Printing and Merchandise market report by 360 Market updates.

Shutterfly, which began in 1999 as a company that helped people print 4” x 6” photographs from their digital cameras, is one of the biggest players in that segment.

“In this growing experience economy, capturing and sharing the power of human connection and personal moments is becoming increasingly important to consumers,” said Dwayne Black, Shutterfly’s senior VP and chief operations officer. “Given shelter in place orders, coronavirus resurgences across the country and people missing spending time with their family and friends this year, we have also seen an increase in people creating personalized home décor products including Framed Prints, Canvas and Photo Tiles: modern, high-quality prints on lightweight metal with an adhesive strip back that make creating your own personalized gallery wall effortless.”

Shutterfly conducted research with Ipsos and found that despite Americans planning to attend fewer in-person holiday celebrations, they continue to seek ways to maintain and deepen connections to family and friends through gifting and holiday card deliveries, according to Black.

“Specifically, nearly 40% of respondents who say they will be ordering more photo prints this year say they will be doing it to remember people who they cannot see in-person due to COVID-19,” he said. “While sending holiday cards is a very popular annual tradition for most Americans, this year one in four Americans think it is even more important to receive cards from loved ones. And the same percentage believe that receiving special gifts and mementos from loved ones is a strong way to stay connected virtually.”

To drive higher productivity for its range of high-quality, photo-based and personalized products including photo gifts, photo books, school portraits, holiday cards, and home décor, Shutterfly is investing in more than 60 new high-performance HP Indigo digital presses.

“HP is the clear leader in the digital press space. Its products enable superior quality and productivity and continue to deliver innovation; which we pass along to our customers,” Black said of Shutterfly’s relationship with HP, which dates back nearly 20 years. “As a consistent user of HP products, our teams are familiar with HP technology, function and integrations, and able to avoid lengthy set-up and training downtimes.”

Cards and Stationery is Shutterfly’s largest product line.

Photo gifts and home décor are fast-growth categories, Black said, adding that Shutterfly’s most popular items in that realm include canvas prints, fleece blankets, ornaments, mugs and desktop plaques. 

The personalized gifts markets in the U.S. is estimated to be worth $3.47 billion by 2022, according to Technavio. 

“In addition, wall art is our most popular product suite in the Photo gifts and home décor category, which includes a broad range of individual items and materials, including our new Metal Photo Tile which launched in Q2 and is quickly becoming a customer favorite,” Black said. 

A significant portion of the aforementioned items, as well as Shutterfly’s flagship photo book line, are produced using HP presses, he noted. 

Shutterfly has five additional brands, including Lifetouch, “the professional photography choice for schools and families,” according to the company’s website.

“For more than 80 years, the Lifetouch business has led the enduring tradition of ‘School Picture Day.’ Today, Lifetouch photographs more than 25 million students in more than 50 thousand schools across the U.S. and Canada,” Black said. “With proprietary advancements in technology – including multiple patents on cameras, two of which are housed in the Smithsonian – Lifetouch delivers quality school photography at scale. 

“Our customers value our ability to provide products and services that support yearbooks, sports photography, ID cards, senior pictures, and commencement pictures. In addition to growing our core underclass picture business, each of these product lines offers significant growth potential,” he continued. “This year has been a unique one. As school formats have changed to navigate the public health crisis, so too has our business. We remain deeply committed to continuing to offer the important and iconic school picture day but in a new way.”

Shutterfly works directly with each school to establish a customized plan, Black noted.

In addition to a safety protocol video, the company implemented enhanced protocols including requiring photographers to: 

• Wear face masks during the entire photography session;
• Have a sanitization kit to clean camera stations and equipment;
• Maintain a minimum of six feet of social distance;
• Limit interactions and improve efficiency with an electronic check-in  

“The combination of Lifetouch and Shutterfly provides opportunities to provide unique products, digital picture delivery, and new sources of value for our host schools.” 

For schools who aren’t holding Picture Day, Lifetouch and Shutterfly launched Picture Day Snaps @Home. 

“Through the Shutterfly mobile app, parents can capture a quick snap, add a background and order a picture package all from the comfort of home,” Black said. 

 
History

From the outset, Shutterfly offered photo storage and photo prints.  

“Shutterfly was born with the promise to help customers get precious memories out of their cameras and into their hands,” Black said. “Over the years, Shutterfly has expanded on that promise, creating services and products that help customers create the most from life’s moments – big and small.”

It goes beyond school photography as well.

“Additionally, Lifetouch is a proud partner of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), distributing SmileSafe photo ID cards to all families where Lifetouch provides school photography and helping provide a current photograph to law enforcement when a child goes missing,” Black said. “To date, Lifetouch has assisted with more than 2,522 searches and has contributed to the successful recovery of 63 children from 25 states.”

According to Black, the company serves customers globally through partners, direct to customer and the enterprise business. 

The Consumer division, including the Shutterfly and Snapfish brands, hosts more than 85 billion customer photos, and deliver more than 24 million orders directly to consumers annually, Black said. It helps customers create personalized and photo-based gifts, including home décor, cards and stationery, photo books, wall art, and more.