Where Walmart and Walgreens miss the boat

Photo processing is a nice chunk of change for big box retail outlets, and Walmart and Walgreens are arguably the kings of that business. Both of them are missing out on more potential revenue, however, since neither has chosen to open user friendly photo sharing/networking sites.

As I've begun to utilize Flickr more and more to share my photos with friends and family, one glaring weakness has stood out-Flickr isn't as convenient for printing photos as it could be. Yeah, they have an arrangement with Target, but most people do not have a Target store within a 15 minute drive. Most people do, however, have a Walmart or a Walgreen's near by. Both stores allow you to upload photos to albums or print via Snapfish, but their invite systems are clunky and inconvenient. Their systems are also designed to primarily let the uploader print as opposed to, say, the uploader's semi-computer literate parents or aunts/uncles. If either one of those stores started or purchased their own photo sharing/networking site with user controls over who is allowed to make prints, they could become the undisputed market leader in photo processing. And if they offered unlimited storage to any account from which an order is made, they'd make serious inroads on sites like Flickr and Photobucket.

I'd be willing to bet that the lawyers are the reason that neither company has gone down this road. Photo centers can be queasy about photos of questionable taste as it is. I know because I managed a photo center at a smaller retailer right out of college. I can only imagine how stomach turning the thought of hosting photos like that might be for them. Additionally, I'm sure the lawyers also bring up the topic of copyrights, an issue which can easily be handled through user controls similar to those used by Flickr/Target. And the issue of photos being uploaded by someone other than the copyright holder could be handled at the store level as it is now with things like wedding photos. It is too bad for both companies that they have neglected this route. While I doubt that my mother would order prints through their klunky systems, I'm quite sure that if they hosted my photos in an easily browsed system like Flickr, she'd have bought enough prints by now to ensure someone a nice bonus.