Marketing | Retail | Customer Engagement
Capturing Memories: Retailers Embrace Custom Portraits to Attract Customers
How Family Portraits Are Becoming a Creative Tool for Customer Engagement
Brands and retailers are turning to the pictures to increase traffic and boost revenue. For the second year in a row, the outdoor clothing and accessories brand Filson offered complimentary professional portraits at some of its U.S. stores for Father’s Day. This is part of a broader trend where custom portraits are being used as a marketing tool.
These custom portraits, especially those with physical copies, are tapping into consumers’ nostalgia for family photos and glamor shots at the mall.
Brands are under pressure to get creative with their marketing dollars, and custom portraits draw customers into physical stores, where they might also make additional purchases. Filson had about 1,000 people come in for Father’s Day photos in Seattle and New York City. Neil Morgan, the brand’s VP of retail, noted that Father’s Day typically brings “two to three times our normal Saturday or Sunday traffic.”
The photo services are not primarily about sales growth for Filson, but they do see a spike in revenue as more people stop by. Morgan shared that
Filson saw a 40% growth in annual revenue over the past five years.
During these photo events, sales often double compared to typical days. JCPenney offers portraits in 350 stores, with the overall sales benefiting from these sessions. Their portrait customers “shop more frequently and spend more on a yearly basis than the average shopper,” according to a JCPenney spokesperson. JCPenney Portraits, which has been around for 30 years, is now gaining popularity with younger audiences, partly thanks to social media buzz.
Videos of family photoshoots and even pet portraits have garnered hundreds of thousands of likes on TikTok.
Kimberley Ring Allen, founder of Ring Communications and adjunct professor of marketing at Suffolk University, explained that consumers are seeking unique and exciting in-store experiences. She pointed out that nostalgia marketing is significant right now, with many people appreciating the tangible aspect of custom portraits.
Some brands are even offering portraits of customers’ pets. For example, Boris and Horton, a dog-friendly cafe in New York City, hosted a dog portrait event, and Kendra Scott, a jewelry brand, offered free pet portraits for purchases over $75.
Overall, custom portraits are proving to be an effective way for brands to connect with customers, drive traffic to physical stores, and create memorable experiences that foster brand loyalty.
