I can’t sell gifts over $20. This is a common comment I hear from newsagents when I talk about the need for us to explore new product category opportunities at price points of $100, $200 and more.
In Cairns a week ago a newsagent made the comment at the Newsagency of the Future session. I accept this is their experience and the experience for many newsagents.
I think any newsagent can sell gifts and other items priced at $20 and more, much more. It is not easy and it does not happen overnight, but it can be done if you follow a process.
It starts with having products people expect to pay more for. This means buying from suppliers you have not dealt with in the past. It also means displaying and promoting them differently. It means making your business look and feel more like the type of business where the more expensive items are sold.
If you place gifts priced at $20, $200 and more in a traditional newsagency alongside cheaper items they will not sell. If your visual merchandising of more expensive items is old school newsagency VM, the expensive items will not sell. If you do not promote the new lines outside your business to people who do not usually shop with you the more expensive items will not sell.
Success with more expensive items starts with you approaching the opportunity with a fresh mindset, unlike anything from your history in your business. It starts with you understanding your target shopper: what they like, how they buy, what matters to them and how far they will travel to buy.
While it would be easy to list here for you more expensive items you could carry in your business to get you thinking, my experience is greater success is achieved by those who sort out this for themselves based on their situation, available capital and preparedness to embrace change in their business.
The core reason newsagents need to address this is: there is no upside in low price point low margin retail unless you significantly increase volume and that is a whole other challenge. Selling more expensive better margin products can deliver a better bottom line result.
Can you sell items priced at more than $20? For sure, any newsagent can.
This question sits at the heart of how you see the future of your business and whether you have the capacity trade through the opportunity of change in the disruption impacting the newsagency channel today.
I tend to stick to under $100 but have no trouble selling toys and gifts up to this price. I do venture over this occasionally and it certainly beats selling 100 newspapers. I am finding tourist are buying gifts. I recently remembered that Cairns Central Shopping centre was the second place to visit after the Reef and shopping is one of their favourite things to do. I no longer just think they are looking for standard souvenirs but just want a nice gift or two to take home.