December newsagency benchmark report

Tower Systems has published my benchmark report comparing newsagency sales data for December 2007 to December 2006. It makes for interesting reading. The headlines, based on data from 39 participating newsagencies, are:

Newspaper and magazine sales fall 7% in the city and 3% in the country.

Card sales increase 6% in the city and 1% in the country.

Stationery flat in the city, strong in the country – up 13%.

The fall in newspaper sales, for a second month in a row, is concerning. Newsagents cannot ignore this trend. Newspapers continue to be the most popular item by volume and this masks the decline for many. I can understand that. While I am sure there are steps we can take to arrest the decline store-by-store, most put the newspaper out in the same place then have been for decades. No wonder customers are blind to them.

We have to respond to the benchmark data as I am confident that what my sample of 39 shows is an accurate reflection on the whole channel.

While analysing the data from the participants I was surprised at the success some were having with categories which others ignored. I might have some more to say about this after the next round of benchmarking.

By making the report widely available I am hoping to get newsagents thinking more about business and how their actions can build success.