As newspapers and TV shows have been reporting retailers across Australia are growing online sales. Here are three current examples from the newsagency channel:
- A newsagency business I know launched a niche category website in May. In August they booked almost $4,400 in revenue with almost all of that coming from outside their town.
- Another newsagency I know launched their niche category website in late July and in August they booked just over $1,000 in sales with all of that from customers outside their town.
- Another newsagency I know, with a website established for two years, did $15,000 in online sales in August. This is more than double what they did in August 2019.
In each case above, none of which are my businesses, the website is not serving a core newsagency product category. That’s not a bad thing. I mention it, rather, as an indicator that the newsagents involved have chosen for their online focus categories not historically traditional for our businesses.
There are also plenty who have gone online and not achieved success yet. It takes time and commitment – websites are hungry beasts.
Online today is a bit like the gold rush in Australia in the 1800s. Unregulated and frenzied. Online is packed with opportunity though and this is where smart retailers, and smart newsagents, are winning.
Through online, newsagents have an opportunity to play away from the shingle and through this to gain experience and relationships that can be leveraged for the shop, or not – depending on the plans for the business.
The most important benefit about online is the ability to drive additional revenue with any additional labour or occupancy costs. This leaves more GP on the table for the bottom line.
Nice returns on investment. Looking forward to working with Tower shortly on our own online store.