How much do you hate Snapfish?

For the past three years, stationers have been wrestling with increasing losses as more customers opt into online photo services for printing their holiday cards. From Snapfish to Tiny Prints-—one of the latest entrants to the race-—they’re getting it from all sides.

Three years ago, retailers cut their boxed photo card inventory in half…and still had tons on clearance in January. Two years ago, they halved it again. Still clearanced a truck load. This past holiday season, they cut the total in half yet again. Yup. More clearance tables.

Basically, that means retailers have a couple of choices: Either continue building a vacuum online sellers are happy to fill, or find a competitive product that will reclaim the lost profits. Digital photo cards are not going away.

But those customers are.

As you head to the various winter gift shows, I’m going to suggest you add one stop to your booth list. Cameo Style, a company I wrote about in a previous Gifts and Dec feature, will be at NYIGF later this month. They provide more than just a photo kiosk you can sell photo cards from; the offerings available cover a wide gamut of personalizable gift items that give you an edge over the online retailers. And they take customer service very, very seriously.

I know it’s a tough time to even pronounce the words capital expenditure, but if you add up the orders you lost to ”the fish” this past quarter, then compare it to the amount of money you could be making not just 4Q but throughout the year, I think you’ll see what I mean. It’s time to think out of the box…or be eaten alive.

Cameo Style is in booth 2815 at the Javitz. Swing by and take a peek. Talk to them about in store events, creative marketing ideas, and how much you want to grow your business. This may be the smartest thing you do all year.

Editor’s Note:

Having now had a chance to see a Cameo Style system in action first hand during NYIGF, I need to clarify what does-—and doesn’t-—do.

For stores catering heavily to DIY customers, “only as shown” personalization, and gifts, it’s a winner, producing quality digital photo albums and simple photo cards. If you want to give customers a place to sit down and create their own cards and albums with drop-and-drag simplicity, this fits.

If, however, you’re looking for a competitive tool against Snapfish, TinyPrints, or other design driven lines, this won’t meet the standard. Output is limited to text and pre-formatted photo positioning only, with no graphics functionality.

Cameo Style strives for the best customer service in the industry, and from what I can tell, achieves that goal. They’re good people who sincerely want you to succeed.