I understand that the state governments of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland are not expanding their retail ticket outlet network. My understanding this is because of the growth in online sales and recharge.
A couple of people with knowledge in this space have told me governments will start to reduce the number of retail outlets selling top-ups.
Such a move would make sense if you think about it. The government keeps more revenue from an online top-up sale than a sale through a retailer. Outside of the paltry commission paid, the maintenance of a retail network is expensive in terms of equipment and labour costs.
My advice to newsagents is to not factor in traffic and revenue from top-up sales or if you do factor it into your budget, plan for a decline in traffic and revenue.
Even if the information I have heard is not accurate in substance or timing, from data I see, newsagents should be budgeting for a decline and making appropriate business planning decisions as a result.
Mark, since the introduction of opal cards our revenue down by half, but it is more work then just selling a paper ticket.