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Studying Trends at Walmart

Sharktooth

Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2022
Messages
455
Location
Canada
Format
Medium Format
I've specifically noticed that Walmart has stopped selling regular color film at all the stores I've been to in Southern Ontario (Canada), I'm not really sure when this really started, but I'm pretty sure it was more than six months ago. They still sell disposable cameras with film, as well as Instax cameras and film. The other thing that's changed is that the disposables and Instax are now displayed in locked glass cabinets.

I asked an employee who works in that section if film was just out of stock. He told me that they were no longer carrying it. This is a worrying trend, since Walmart was one of the few brick and mortar places you could actually find film during the pandemic.

Has anyone else noticed this in other Walmart locations in North America?
 
I wouldn't know what Walmart does, as I avoid going there if at all possible. But I'm not surprised. Southeast US here.
 
I've been going to more rural areas just north of me to buy Fuji 400 from Walmart. It usually seems sold out the closer to Tampa I get. I bought a box last month. They usually have more stock there, which I always assumed less demand...
 
I don't shop at Walmart, but CVS, Walgreens and Target all sell consumer 35mm color negative film around here.
 
Our Walmart has Fuji 400 36 exposure color negative film in stock pretty regular. For a consumer color film it isn't bad and their prices are decent so I buy a 3-pack every month or so. Our CVS Drug Store carries Kodak color film now and again but they don't keep it in stock consistently. Either that or someone else buys it up when it does come in stock.
 
Thanks for the feedback, folks. It sounds like the situation in my area is a regional decision, so it's not a corporate wide change. Can anyone else in Canada share their experience?
 
Last time I looked, they still sold film. I think that was in the winter sometime. I don't buy colour film very often, since I almost never use the stuff. I was surprised they continued to sell it at all once they got rid of their processing. They were the only place to get film developed around here for maybe 10 years.
 
I'm in the same boat regarding processing. There's really no place in the entire region that can do it, so I always wait till I'm in Toronto. There's still a handful of places that can do it there.

I rarely buy color film from Walmart, but I always find it interesting to see what they have available, since it truly was the only place in our region that was likely to have some. They used to carry both Gold and Fuji 400. During the pandemic they might have only one, or the other, but very rarely both. It would be just hanging on the racks for anyone to pick up. A couple of years ago, a few stores were putting the film on "locked" racks, so you had to get an employee to come and unlock the rack. Lately it's now all locked cabinets, and no boxed film at all. It makes me wonder if theft was becoming a big problem, considering the scarce availability, and the increasing cost.

Many things to ponder.
 
Most likely any you see are distributed through the distribution channels that service grocery stores and drug stores and other smaller retailers.
Even specialized photographic retailer Beau Photo in Vancouver has some times in the past purchased film through that sort of distributor, because the minimum order quantities and shipping arrangements were more favorable than those provided by distributors who are set up to favour specialized photographic retailers.
In addition, the packaging on the products sold that way is more likely to include cards that work well with display shelve hangers.
 
I'm not understanding what you're implying, Matt. Do the distributors set up the store display, and keep it stocked, or is it something else?

In terms of the racks, there are still racks and cards. That hasn't changed. What has changed is that the racks are now in an enclosed glass cabinet with glass sliding doors. You can see what's in there, but the glass sliding doors are locked. In the stage before that the rack itself was locked.
 
Sharktooth said:
I'm not understanding what you're implying, Matt. Do the distributors set up the store display, and keep it stocked, or is it something else?
Click to expand...

The distributors that are oriented toward specialized retailers mostly stock film packaged this way:





The distributors that service more general merchandise retailers mostly stock film packaged for display this way:



The minimum order quantities and shipping arrangements from the respective distributors are really the most important motivators, because a retailer like Walmart probably receives a shipment of film, plus gift frames, plus miscellany of all sorts of other lower priced things, while the distributors who service specialized photo retailers are more likely to supply cameras and lenses and a miscellany of other high ticket price things.
 
O.K, that makes sense, but I'm trying to determine if Walmart is exiting the packaged film market entirely. It's clear now that in at least some parts of the US they're still happily selling film. Here in the lower end of Southwestern Ontario, I've asked multiple times lately if they're still selling film. The answer has always been no. Maybe it's just a regional thing, but maybe it's more widespread.
 
Perhaps, but there isn't much selection.
Their website only lists a single option for product "sold by Walmart", although the listing does show "Pickup available" at the nearby store:
 
Sharktooth said:
I've asked multiple times lately if they're still selling film. The answer has always been no.
Click to expand...

The person you ask might say no even if he or she is standing in front of a big rack of film.
 
What's different now is that there isn't even a rack, or space for a rack, to sell film. Previously, there has always been racks for film, but many times those racks may be empty. I'm assuming that every rack or display area needs to be generating sales. If they can get better sales selling something else in that space, then out the door you go. It's looking that way for film. When they say they're not selling film, it just confirms it.

The Walmart Canada website seems to be the place where old clearout stock goes to die. Ship all the remnants to some big warehouse and get rid of it through online sales.
 
Several months ago I walked up to the "film" sales and processing counter at a WalMart in my area and asked about processing. (Full disclosure, I was carrying my Pentax LX with a 50mm f1.2 lens.} The counter person was perhaps in his mid 50s. I asked if the negatives were returned, he said that a CD with scanned images came back, and looked, I thought, apologetic.
I replied that I bought the best gear I could reasonably afford and were the negatives returned I could select those I wanted for drum scans. He agreed, and said he completely understood.
I've had similar encounters at other film processing sites, for example, CVS and Walgreens, with the same experiences, although younger clerks don't seem to understand that good gear can yield really large prints but not from their low resolution scans.
It seems that either I process my film myself, or mail film off, at higher cost.
 
One other unfortunate thing, Fujifilm may be getting this particular stock from USA, could be that Walmart Canada is saying nope.
 
That was my assumption, the Fuji 400 isn't really original Japanese Fuji and people say its Ultramax 400 just repackaged now. I wonder if people are boycotting it...
 
London Drugs in Canada stocks consumer film. In Calgary they often stock Ilford. The one I go to has a processing lab.

if you want Portra or Ektar rolls the camera store in Calgary stocks and ships.
I use BHP in New York for sheet film.
 
London Drugs is only in western Canada, but it's useful to know that they still stock film. I'm really just interested in tracking the mass market retailers that stock film, so London Drugs would definitely fit that description.

In Ontario, I can't think of any mass market retailer that sells film, other than Walmart (and they may not be doing it any more either). Sure, you can still get it at specialty camera shops, but there's fewer of those now too. Maybe it's all gone to online sales, but there's really no obvious way to know how much is actually being sold that way.

If mass market retailers aren't interested in selling film, then it seems like the film market is continuing to shrink. It's hard to be optimistic about the long term future for film.
 
Sharktooth said:
If mass market retailers aren't interested in selling film, then it seems like the film market is continuing to shrink. It's hard to be optimistic about the long term future for film.
Click to expand...

The bricks and mortar mass market retailers are shrinking faster than the film market.
The last place I would look now for an item like photographic film is something like a "Department" store.
I expect that the reason London Drugs remains supportive is that they are the last remaining general merchandise retailer with a healthy photo equipment and lab business.
Our local London Drugs still has a good selection of new cameras and lenses and other accessories for sale, as well as a newly energized if somewhat small selection of used cameras.
See here: https://www.londondrugs.com/photography-services
Apparently, they have even added rentals!
 
It's the out of sight, out of mind scenario. If you never see it, there's no reason to think that it even exists anymore. London Drugs seems like an anomaly. There's nothing like that out east.
 
Once a WalMart shows up, a town is no longer rural. It's an ugly suburban sprawl. Pity you Canadians have to put up with that kind of eyesore too. Brick n' mortar it ain't.
 
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