Starting next month, Costco will be shutting down its photo centers at all of its 800 store locations.
The company also plans to terminate four additional services, including ink refills, the ability to take passport photos, photo restoration and transfer of home videos from VHS tapes to DVD or USB devices.
Costco customers will still have the option to utilize the photo center services online through the wholesale retailer’s website.
The move to shut down the service offering comes as the company has seen the demand for photo printing services steeply decline. Since the possession of high-quality cameras on smartphones and increased social media activity has become more commonplace, people have opted to share and print their photos online rather than doing so in physical stores.
The decision comes as part of the retailer’s broader plan during the COVID-19 pandemic to limit the number of people served at its other departments, including for services relating optical care and hearing aids.
The official date for the termination of services is February 14, 2021.