We’re always looking for new ways to power the business of photography. In the coming year, there are six key areas we’re focusing on that should give you and your business some jet fuel. Here’s what to look forward to in 2024 and 2025: 

1. Faster photo delivery.

We consistently hear that capitalizing on recency and emotion is key to maximizing sales after a photo event. That’s why we’re planning to offer additional ways for you to upload and deliver faster. Whether it’s utilizing new technology like our recent integration with Fujifilm that allows you to upload to SmugMug straight from your camera, or improving the efficiency of your post-shoot workflow, our goal is to help you get your photos in front of your clients as fast as possible.

2. New marketing opportunities.

Marketing is more than just getting people in the front door (or to your homepage), and we’ve got some exciting developments in the works to help you keep your customers coming back for more. First on that list is our recent addition to the shopping experience: When your customers leave an unpurchased item in their shopping cart, we’ve built a helpful reminder email that’s currently driving up to 30% more sales. Next up: we’re working on solutions to increase your average order value (AOV) and let you engage more consistently with customers before, during, and after their shoot.

3. Helping your buyers find their photos faster.

It’s hard to go anywhere these days without engaging in or overhearing a conversation about AI. Its rapid development is causing this exciting new technology to become foundational in our everyday lives. AI has many relevant applications in the photography world. One very clear example is in image recognition. As a customer arriving at a photo gallery with hundreds, sometimes thousands of images, finding the photos they’re most interested in can be a challenge. That’s why we’re planning new ways to help your customers quickly take advantage of AI and image recognition to find their photos in seconds, which leads to more sales for you.

4. Improving the customer buying experience. 

We’ve already made some large strides in this area in the past year with a modern update to the product selection flow, improving your customer’s access to Packages and Gallery Downloads, providing the ability to purchase Packages on mobile devices, and partnering with a new print lab, Fujifilm. Planned future updates include support for even faster payment for customers via Apple Pay and Google Pay.

5. Improved fulfillment of digital downloads.

It should come as no surprise that in the world of photography, digital is now king. This doesn’t just refer to cameras - digital downloads are far-and-away the most popular purchase option now as customers seek more flexible ways to buy and share photos. Digital files present ease of sharing, flexibility for printing, and a low footprint way to preserve memories for a lifetime. Knowing this, there are a number of ways we plan to improve the experience related to the fulfillment of downloads. When someone downloads a photo from you, it should be easy and fast, no matter what device they’re on.

6. Better access to data.

Understanding sales data can be crucial for growing your business. With over 20 years of sales data and experience under our belt, we plan to provide you more comprehensive insights. The goal is to empower you to make informed decisions, invest wisely in your business, identify profitable niches and optimize pricing strategies - all to ensure you maximize your revenue.