Magazine week: How to drive repeat magazine sales in the newsagency

Each day this week I will post about magazines from an overall business perspective in newsagencies. I am doing this because some suppliers think my submission to the ACCC of the proposed trial of new magazine supply rules I made on behalf of newsXpress reflects a move against magazines. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am fighting for fairness because of believe in magazines for the long term.

How to drive repeat magazine sales in the newsagency.

Whereas supermarkets, petrol outlets and convenience stores rely on impulse purchases of magazines and purchases with other destination items, magazines in newsagencies are more often themselves the destination purchase.

We have to work harder at getting more of the purchases. Around 50% of over the counter purchases of top selling titles (by value) are made outside our channel – according to data from some magazine publishers. The key for us earning more sales back to our channel comes down to what we do to drive repeat business.

Here are some suggestions on ways to bring shoppers back, was for them to think of your business ahead of others when it comes to magazines:

1. Loyalty offer #1. A simple magazine club card. For years I ran buy 11 over 8 weeks and get your 12th free up to the value of $10. This worked very well- helping the newsagency achieve better than average results with magazines.
2. Loyalty offer #2. Offer discount vouchers on all purchases (except lotteries). This will generate cash people can spend on magazines. Done right, discount vouchers cost you nothing. In my own newsagency now our sales are well above the channel average and I consider the discount vouchers to be a key factor in this. Indeed, I have the data to show the positive impact it has on behaviour.
3. Actively promote putaways. Setup right with professional processes in place using your newsagency software you can be sure of bringing shoppers back into the business. Cutaway customers are more likely to purchase other items than regular magazine customers.
4. Tell people what you have. People who come in for one or two titles regularly may not know the range you have, create a small A5 flyer and slip this into each magazine you sell. Attract them based on range.
5. Promote ‘subscriptions’. Make it each for customers to purchase a number of copies of a magazine as a gift which you keep aside (cutaway) for the gift recipient. You can be more flexible than a subscription which is usually for a year and where product can often come damaged through postal delivery.
6. Offer an alert service. To let customers when new issues are out.
7. Promote and promote. Use email marketing and social media to attract shoppers back with product knowledge no other retailer will invest time in.

I don’t suggest a points based loyalty offer and that is seen by shoppers as the same as the supermarket offer – not worth much.

I see it as critical for newsagents to do everything possible to be the first location thought of when anyone considers buying a magazine. the ideas in this post are designed to get you thinking about what could work in your shop to encourage this and to drive repeat magazine business.

For too long newsagents have been treated by magazine publishers and distributors in a paternalistic way. Just because we ask for fair and equitable supply so we can compete with others selling magazines does not mean we want to turn our back on the category. It means the opposite. We see a bright future for magazines if we can achieve fair supply.

Footnote: I am calling this magazine week for no reason other than to label the series of posts.