Costco is Closing All Photo Centers

Costco has announced that it will be closing the Photo Centers in all its locations by February 14, 2021. The announcement was made known to Costco Photo Center patrons via email early this morning.

In March of 2019, Costco announced that it was closing some of its in-store photo departments, citing plummeting print sales and a lack of demand for the service. Today, that sentiment was echoed in the email to customers.

We are writing to inform you about the upcoming closure of the photo department at all Costco locations on Sunday, February 14, 2021.

Since the introduction of camera phones and social media, the need for printing photos has steeply declined, even though the number of pictures taken continues to grow. After careful consideration, we have determined the continued decline of prints no longer requires on-site photo printing.

Costco is not getting out of the photography market entirely, however. While the company plans to close its in-store locations, it plans to continue to offer prints through its website.

Email sent to Photo Center customers.

Digital technologies allow consumers to do more with their photos, including the ability to personalize canvas, metal & acrylic prints, or create photo books, stationery, calendars and other gifts. We will continue to ship these high quality products and prints to your home or business through the Costco Photo Center website, CostcoPhotoCenter.com.

The loss of the in-person services also means the company will no longer be offering passport photo services either.

Costco’s home movie video transfer, passport photo, photo restoration and ink cartridge refill services will no longer be available after February 14, 2021.

The company is urging all members to plan to retrieve any remaining orders by March 28th.

The Costco Photo Center had been a staple of the company’s locations, usually located just off the entrance to its many stores. How Costco will use the newly freed-up space in its locations is unknown. PetaPixel had reached out to Costco for comment, but the company did not respond ahead of publication.


Update on 01/13/21: Costco representatives responded that management has no comment at this time.


P.S. If you need high-quality photo prints, be sure to check out Printique, which is run by our long-time partner Adorama.

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