Two weeks ago we completed a relay for cards in the newsagency. While the business is only two years old, the time was right. We had good data to guide decisions, space options and a plan for a fresh approach, for a newsagency, to displaying cards.
Here is the main card wall. Note we have another bay of cards on the right, down the aisle and ut of shot.
We had trailed these fixtures in the card department with success. Customers love them as they make shopping easy. We call our cards by showing more of the full front of each card.
The big difference of the re-plan is we have removed the gift bays we had in the middle of sections of cards as they were not woking as well as we needed. We felt a more complete and free flowing card display would be better for us.
One important aspect about this move is – the fixtures are easy moved, easily changed. They clip in and clip out. That’s right, there is nothing purpose built. I will never install purpose built fixtures in a newsagency again. If a shoplifter proposes this, look elsewhere.
Another important aspect is we own the fixtures. I think it is essential newsagents own their own fixtures as this provides maximum in-store flexibility.
Here is what the customer sees at eye level.
And as they look down standing in the same spot, here is what people see.
And this is another section of the card department, off the wall and to the right. On the back of this is wrap. We are not sure about the location of wrap., That may require work.
This shows the placement and how we are using cards as part of our traffic flow plans, feeding card traffic into the magazine department at the back of the shop.
Our overall thinking about cards in this shop is that we want to promote range such that every shopper feels they will be satisfied for whatever card giving need they have.
In addition to what we see in the photos, we also have cards displayed off location, in non traditional card fixtures (this is important) as well as five card spinners offering diversified ranges that speak to different needs. These spinners are moved around to combat store blindness of customers and our team members.
I urge newsagents to look at the card offer, to ensure it is fresh, easily shopped and obviously satisfying for any card giving occasion.
Our channel sells close to 35% of all cards sold in Australia. We need to grow this. We can do this by being professional in our approach and by helping people buy more cards than they intend.