I was in a newsagency the other day and noticed that the range of retro / raunchy magnets they had in November when I took the photo had sold out. Indeed, they had sold out in a matter of weeks, delivering an excellent return on small inventory and space investments.
They were placed perfectly next to cards, enabling easy leveraging of card purchases into a magnet as a small gift to go with a card.
Retail success in independent retail businesses like newsagencies is all about attention to small steps detail – the many small things you can and should do to attract that extra purchase with a core item like a greeting card.
The key is that each small step, each additional item we carry, must connect with something else we sell of do in our business. This is where the magnets fit. They start to work leveraging card purchases but have the range long enough and they can generate their own traffic if you become known for the niche product.
All of this matters in 2014 as the nature of the traditional Australian newsagencies continues to evolve – but at a faster pace than in 2013.
This post is about the small steps detail we need to focus on as retailers. Selling sixty magnets in a few weeks at more than 50% gross profit is a good story. Many of these small stories combine make the newsagency business considerably more valuable.