Put cards where people are most likely to purchase them.
While that sounds like common sense, many newsagencies are not structured or built for this approach.
Historically, newsagency businesses have been established with a card department created on the belief that anyone wanting to buy a card will enter the shop and look there. And they do, in good number.
However, cards only in the card department misses the opportunity to win impulse purchase business.
With many more types of retailers selling cards today compared to just a few years ago, we need to get better at tapping into the impulse purchase opportunity. Hence my advice:
Put cards where people are most likely to purchase them.
This means putting cards with gifts, in multiple locations in-store, and doing this with the careful thought of an editor making considered style decisions. It also means reviewing the placements every couple of days, to ensure they remain what you want.
Adjacencies matter with the type of card placement I am outlining here – the right products with the right cards. The goal is to sell both, oh, and a bag too.
Almost every department in a newsagency can support thoughtful card placement. But not all at once as that defeats the purpose of shining a light on cards.
There are obvious choices like baby cards with baby gifts, like in the photo with this post. Teacher cards with teacher gifts, male birthday cards with male birthday gifts.
But what about a display of gifts with sympathy cards, new home cards or thank you cards. In these three we have opportunities to source gifts to support the placement of a selection of cards from each caption outside the gift department.
Growing card sales in the newsagency can be achieved if we engage with cards in ways that have not been common for us. This suggestion of thoughtful placement of a small selection with gifts and other items is tactic way I am sure can help grow card sales.
Note to card companies: don’t tell retailers what cards to place where. Let them make those decisions in-store. By all means support with space efficient stands that are not made noisy with branding. However, retailers haver to make editorial decisions themselves.