Crossword magazine sales continue to surge in newsagencies, more so than any other magazine category.
Crossword unit sales are up around 60% year on year and are tracking at around 8% of magazine revenue, up from what has been usual.
Since other magazine retailers offer nowhere near the range of crossword titles found in newsagencies, this is good news for our channel.
Plenty of newsagents are leveraging the opportunity by ensuring crossword titles are in the best location and always kept fresh. This makes sense.
Based oil what I see in jigsaw, craft and related product sales, I suspect crosswords will continue to be strong for months to come. Certainly, that’s what I’ve factored into our own space allocation and promotion plans. And, yes, we are promoting crosswords outside the business as they work as a traffic generator.
Now, before anyone comments, I’m not happy with them paltry margin, not happy at all. However, I’ll take the traffic the category generates for now.
Cryptic crosswords are a niche all by themselves. Followers might seek out certain “authors”. They offer an opportunity to stock other than the norm