Ava AbbottShutterfly is a digital retailer and e-commerce platform based in Redwood City, California. It was founded in 1999 as an online social expression and personal publishing service.
The company expanded its platform through strategic acquisition, including Tiny Prints, Wedding Paper Divas, Penguin Digital, This Life, BorrowLenses, Groovebook, and Lifetouch for $825 million. In Aug 2021, Shutterfly acquired Spoonflower for $225 million to exploit the global custom wallpaper, fabric, and home décor marketplace.
Today, Shutterfly has more than 21 million active users and over 50 billion photos on its photo storage platform. In 2020, the company had around 7,100 employees and generated over $2 billion in annual revenues. [1]
Shutterfly operates via three divisions: Consumer, Lifetouch, and Business Solutions. Its consumer division allows users to create personalized photo gifts, such as photo books, smartphone cases, wall art, and home décor.
Businesses can develop marketing content using its Business Solutions, while its Lifetouch division offers school photography in partnership with JCPenney Studios. In Jun 2019, Apollo acquired Shutterfly for $2.7 billion and its competitor Snapfish for $300 million and merged them in Jan 2020.
In Mar 2021, Shutterfly announced that it is going public via a SPACs merger with Altimar Acquisition Corp. This IPO deal values Shutterfly at $5 billion, making it one of the world’s leading online photo services.
Shutterfly IPO will increase its competitive edge over top alternatives like Vistaprint, Zazzle, Mixbook, and Picaboo. [2]
Here is an in-depth analysis of top Shutterfly’s competitors and alternatives:
1. Zazzle
Year founded: 2005
Headquarter: Redwood City, California
Zazzle is an online design and print services platform specializing in custom printed business products and personalized gifts. Like Shutterfly, Zazzle allows users to create invitation cards, art, accessories, office supplies, and more.
In 2020, Zazzle’s sales of personalized puzzles surged by 4,000% as millions of people turned to family-friendly games during lockdowns. [3]
In Sept 2020, the company introduced Zazzle LIVE to connect its customers with expert designers via video and chat in real-time. This new feature streamlines the design process, improves users’ experience, and increases Zazzle’s competitive edge over Shutterfly.
Although Zazzle costs more than Shutterfly, it offers robust collaborative tools and over 1000 product design categories. Zazzle is a worthy competitor for Shutterfly. [4]
2. Vistaprint
Year founded: 1995
Headquarter: Venlo, Netherlands
Vistaprint is the world’s leading online platform for custom printing services. Users can create custom printed products, including cards, flyers, banners, and more. In 2020, Vistaprint had around 6,100 employees and generated over $1.4 billion in revenues.
The main competitive advantage for Vistaprint over Shutterfly is its printing process that integrates its website with automated printing facilities. In 2020, Vistaprint acquired freelance marketplace 99designs and combined it with its design services.
In May 2021, 99designs by Vistaprint unveiled a $1.8 million global initiative to help small freelance designers cope with economic challenges. The platform has around 150,000 designers and caters to over 20 million SMBs. Vistaprint is the best Shutterfly alternative for small businesses. [5]
3. Mixbook
Year founded: 2006
Headquarter: Emeryville, California
Mixbook is a photo album software and online printing platform specializing in holiday gifts, events, and celebrations. The company offers customizable templates for scrapbooks, photo books, photo cards, yearbooks, and more. In 2020, Mixbook had 57 employees and made over $5 million in revenues.
Like Shutterfly, Mixbook is a BBB Accredited business with professional design tools. Mixbook offers easy-to-use online tools for photo editing and content creation. The platform allows users to create high-quality custom printed products independently or with the help of an expert.
But the main competitive advantage for Mixbook is its affordable prices, which can entice some customers from Shutterfly. Unlike Mixbook, Shutterfly’s photo books are only 20 pages, and adding a page cost around $2 with an additional $10 fee to remove its logos.
On the other hand, Mixbook users enjoy up to 50% discounts on photo printing and gifts. Mixbook is Shutterfly’s top competitor and alternative in personalized holiday merchandise. [6]
4. Picaboo
Year founded: 2002
Headquarter: Hanover, New Hampshire
Picaboo is an online self-publishing software and printing service. Users can upload their photos on Picaboo software and create high-quality photo products. The platform supports a wide range of picture formats. It also offers robust features for photo editing, cropping, and rotating.
The main advantage of using Picaboo is its unique color-field analysis technique. The software captures all intricate details by analyzing color tone, contrast, and other image parameters.
Users can choose from five photobook options for customization, including Classic for $19.99, Seamless Lay-Flat for $64.99, Madison for $199.99, and Flush Mount for $399.99.
The platform integrates with high-tech cameras like Nikon, Canon, and Kodak. Picaboo is the best Shutterfly alternative for professional photography. [7]
5. PhotoBox
Year founded: 2000
Headquarter: London, UK
PhotoBox is one of the leading online photo printing services in the UK. The company specializes in photo books, cards, calendars, and personalized gifts, including photo-printed cushions and mugs. In 2020, PhotoBox’s had around 637 employees and generated over $185 million.
In Dec 2020, PhotoBox partnered with NetApp to develop a hybrid cloud infrastructure for storage and compute. This investment will allow PhotoBox to fulfill customer orders quickly and cost-effectively.
The solution also includes all-flash technology that sends all PhotoBox’s international orders directly to its factory in Paris for printing. PhotoBox has over 30 million registered users, making it one of the largest online printing platforms globally. In the UK, PhotoBox is Shutterfly’s top competitor and alternative. [8]
6. Moo
Year founded: 2006
Headquarter: London, UK
Moo is an online design and printing technology company with manufacturing facilities in Essex and Dagenham in the UK and Rhode Island in the USA. It offers an online platform for creating promotional and marketing products.
In 2020, Moo shipped a record 1.4 million orders and saw a 3.5% increase in sales to $139.6 million. The company has around 585 employees and caters to businesses from more than 200 countries.
The main competitive advantage of Moo over Shutterfly is its variety of marketing supplies like notebooks, flyers, and printable facemasks. The company also offers business cards and menus for next-day delivery, ideal for SMBs and event planners with tight schedules. Moo is one of Shutterfly’s top competitors in the customized business products sector. [9]
7. PS Print
Year founded: 1990
Headquarter: Shoreview, Minnesota
PS Print is an online printing service operated by Deluxe Corporation. The company specializes in business products and competes with Shutterfly’s Business Solutions division. Currently, more than 500,000 marketers and graphic designers use PS Print’s platform.
PS Print’s platform offers state-of-the-art printing and design tools to meet the unique needs of businesses. Users can develop and print products independently or collaborate with experienced print and color specialists for $200-$1000.
Companies pay $154 to $193 for 500 business cards. SMBs and individuals can get 100 cards in Standard, Slim, Mini Square, and Jumbo starting from $15.93 to $39.81 with black-and-white or colored backsides. PS Print is specialized in business products, making it a worthy Shutterfly competitor in this sector. [10]
8. Walmart Photo
Year founded: 1969
Headquarter: Bentonville, Arkansas
Walmart is renowned for offering products at affordable prices, and its in-store printing service is no exception. The retail giant’s photo printing business matches Shutterfly across the board. With over 2 million employees, 11,000 stores, and $550 billion in revenues, Walmart has the resources to compete and grab Shutterfly’s market share.
Walmart offers several photo-printing options at low prices, from small 4-by-6-inch prints for 9 cents to larger 5-by-7 photos for 69 cents. In each category, Walmart Photo beats Shutterfly by a wide margin. It is on the same level as Shutterfly in image quality. Walmart Photo is a formidable Shutterfly competitor for many reasons. [11]
9. Amazon Photo Prints
Year founded: 1994
Headquarter: Seattle, Washington
Amazon Photo Prints is an online photo printing and storage service operated by the eCommerce giant Amazon Inc. Like Shutterfly, Amazon Photo Print offers custom photo gifts, photo books, décor pieces, and personalized items. In 2020, Amazon’s annual revenue was $386 billion and a net income of $21.33 billion.
Amazon Photo offers free unlimited photo storage for Amazon Prime members and 5GB photo and video storage for non-Prime members. Users can access a wide range of photo gifts and décor items, cheaper than Shutterfly’s products across the board. However, non-Prime customers pay a little bit more than Prime members.
Amazon also offers free shipping on all orders over $15. All these offerings can entice any Shutterfly customer. Amazon Inc’s financial capabilities increase Amazon Photo’s competitive advantage over Shutterfly. [12]
10. CafePress
Year founded: 1999
Headquarter: Louisville, Kentucky
CafePress is an eCommerce retailer that offers customized merchandise on-demand. The company is one of the pioneers in this space. In Sept 2020, PlanetArt acquired CafePress and now operates as an independent subsidiary.
The main competitive advantage of CafePress over Shutterfly is product quality. All personalized items on its platform are designed by experienced third-party content creators. Businesses purchase CafePress t-shirts, cards, calendars, tote bags, and more for marketing purposes.
The company also has an expansive delivery network and sales channels across the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia. CafePress is a worthy Shutterfly competitor and alternative. [13]
References & more information
- Jostedt, E. (2021, Aug 1). Shutterfly Acquires Spoonflower in Major Expansion Beyond Photo Personalization. Business Wire
- Lombardo, C. (2021, Mar 4). Shutterfly in Talks to Go Public Through SPAC Merger. The Wall Street Journal
- Graham, J. (2020, Dec 23). Personalized puzzles, on-demand products based on Zoom jokes make Zazzle sales sizzle. USA TODAY
- Nibbs, A. (2020, Sept 30). Zazzle ushers in New Era for Gig Economy with Zazzle LIVE. Business Wire
- Todd, S. (2021, May 12). 99designs by Vistaprint Launches 18 million Initiative to support 99 small businesses during Covid-19. Forbes
- Boilard, M. (2021, Apr 1). Shutterfly vs. Mixbook: Comparing great photobooks. Photo Workout
- TC Reviews (2021, Aug 25). Picaboo Review. Top Consumer Review
- Tech Editor (2020, Dec 17). PhotoBox snaps up NetApp HCI for dependable performance and flexibility. UK Tech News
- Francis, J. (2021, Jan 14). Moo battles Covid sales slump. Print Week
- Elliott, J. (2021, Aug 18). Best Business Card Printing Services. Investopedia
- Muchmore, M. (2020, Dec 21). Walmart Photo Review. PC Mag
- Freeman, K. (2020, Dec 17). Amazon Photo Printing review: fantastic storage, great prints. iMore
- Mann, D. (2020, Sep 2). Louisville-based CafePress was again acquired. Biz Journals
- Featured image by Rirri
Kevin Johnson
Brianna Parker
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