The cliche in all good newsagents is ignorant
It’s illustrated cover day… Hang on… IT’S NEW ISSUE DAY! Our lovely packed Autumn issue is out NOW available in all good newsagents
This pitch was put out by a publisher this week in the UK. I see the same phrase used in Australia from time to time.
in all good newsagents.
It’s a marketing phrase from decades ago that has no value, no place in business today.
Embedded in the phrase is that if the product is not in a newsagency you visit or contact, that’s a bad business.
Also, the phrase assumes that the newsagent controls what they sell. In some product categories, like magazines, in Australia we do not control what we sell.
I wish the phrase would no longer be used, by any supplier, not just those supplying newsagents.
I did a search through Google and Twitter. The phrase in all good newsagents is widely used. Ugh.
Burnouts Australia, Ozcorp cards, Mama Disrupt, Chillfactor, Fishing World, Natgeo Kids, Science Illustrated … these are some of the businesses using the lazy and ignorant phrase. Magazine publishers especially need to understand that they have far more control where their product goes than newsagents.
I get this is a small issue, probably bothering only few. But, it’s on my mind … and now I’ve written about it I can move on.
Two magazines worth pitching
Here are two magazines worth placing either with newspapers (next to your top seller) or at the counter. They are working well as impulse purchases for little effort. Both titles are worth pitching on social media too – easy wins.
The first is the AFL record for the 2022 AFLW Season 7.
The second is the Doctor Who magazine with the cover story of the new doctor.
I know there will be some who say there is no point in promoting magazines. There is, especially for what can be habit based purchase opportunities as well as for titles in the news – it shows us as being relevant.
Hey, Are Direct, it’s about time you offered newsagents scan-based trading
Supermarkets have had scan-based trading for years with magazines, from back in the days on the now defunct Gordon and Gotch, then to Ovato, and now to Are Direct.
Scan-based trading is where retailers pay the magazine distributor for what is sold. That’s it.
The distributor / publisher carries the cost of shrinkage (theft, damage) etc.
The retailer makes margin from what they sell. They do not have margin ‘stolen’ by theft, or damage or failed supply … and I include damage and failed supply because the Are Direct process for handling claims by newsagents is a mess, time consuming, starting with the assumption the newsagent is wrong. Indeed, it is so bad that plenty of newsagents don’t even lodge a credit claim.
Scan-based trading is unfair in that newsagents don’t have access to it while their competitors do. This provides them an unfair advantage, facilitated by the magazine Are Direct and magazine publishers.
It’s unfortunate that Are Media spends on the old-school display competitions and similar yet fails to deal with the unfairness at the core of the magazine distribution model to newsagents.
The magazine distribution ‘experts’ at Are Direct will say it’s a data issue, that newsagents cannot provide the same accurate sales data flowing from supermarkets. This was nonsense when put 10 years ago, it is nonsense today. I say that as the owner of the newsagency software company serving more newsagents than. any other with newsagents icy software.
I tell you what … turn on scan-based trading for newsagents with accurate data and even more newsagents would achieve the desired accuracy.
This is an easy step for Are Direct to take, a fair step, a socially responsible step and pro small business retail step.
Look at a local newsagency competing with a major supermarket a couple of doors away. When it comes to magazines, the supermarket has a better deal, they make more money and save more time from how they are dealt with by Are Direct than the local small business newsagent.
Every single person at Are Media who is in contact with newsagents needs to understand this, they need to understand the unfairness of the situation as in related to newsagents.
Turn on scan-based trading for newsagents and create a fairer model for our channel, show your support for us in a practical way, show us some respect.
Supermarkets vs. newsagents for Father’s Day cards
Of course I am going to say local Aussie newsagents offer the best range of Father’s Day cards, I own newsagency businesses and have been part of this ever-evolving local retail channel for many years.
I am biased.
But I’ll try and look at it objectively.
Here’s the Father’s Day card range in one of my shops.
It’s broad in terms of designs and in terms of captions covered, and there is the biggest difference compared to supermarkets – the captions covered.
I get that card companies like to have supermarkets in their channel mix – but not all card companies do. Supermarkets play a role in supporting engagement by Aussies with greeting cards. But card lovers, those folks who want range and who love good cards, they’ll shop at their local newsagency because there they will see range, get personal service, have choice and, most likely, have access to a loyalty offer that is actually valuable for them.
I have been to 8 local Coles and Woolworths supermarkets over the last few days and each had two stands from the one company – one major had one brand and the other major had another brand. Their caption range was limited. The stand looked messy. I suspect it is only tidied when the paid merchandise diner visits weekly or, maybe, twice a week.
In local newsagencies the cards are tidied daily, with the stands kept shopper friendly. So, as well as range, there is the shopper experience. This is where local newsagencies tend to excel. Here’s the display in one of my other newsagencies:
Yes, supermarkets offer volume, but they do not offer the personal engagement that is key to sustained success with greeting cards.
It’s our job as newsagents to get it right with cards because sales continue to e good, growing for plenty of us, and the margin is excellent. It is our job to keen the displays tidy, organised, to work with suppliers on range, to ensure we have a broad range of captions, to ensure that we are pitching cards in multiple locations in the shop – to engage with the impulse as well as destination shopper.
The Father’s Day season brings in more traffic ,which is good. Our job is to provide an experience that encourages them back before the next major season. We can do this, supermarkets tend to not.
I am approaching the rest of 2022 as a card growth opportunity. We have a number of changes afoot in one of my shops, including leveraging an opportunity I’ve not seen done in a newsagency before. If it works, I’ll be thrilled. If it does not work, hopefully I will learn something from it. At the core of what we are doing is a desire to expand the range of card shoppers we attract, and that starts with building the ball park, like in Field of Dreams. yes, I really do believe in if you build it, they will come.
Okay, it’s cliche and twee, but embedded in the phrase is a goal and hope and they are motivators for and local small business retailer. Having a goal is key.
More soon …
What is the best EFTPOS rate for newsagents today?
Looking at various rate offers for newsagents out there, here are the current best rates. If you know of any better, please comment.
- Visa / Mastercard: .70%
- eftpos: .35%
- Tap & save: .35%
Other factors that can play into the value equation are terminal rental, easy access to fast support, assistance in resolving chargebacks and regular rate reviews.
Online, what matters more? You, or what you sell?
Newspower recently sent our marketing that claimed 6,245,277 searches on Google. I knew this was wrong and shared with them data on actual Newspower searches.
The Newspower website itself gets around 16,800 visitors a month. The term Newspower accounts for 3.42% of its traffic. The Newspower website traffic appears to have dropped around 30% over the last 18 months. I shared this with Newspower and their CEO said the claim of 6,245,277 Newspower searches on Google has been mistakenly stated. It was not our intention to mislead any reader with this information, and we will now advise those readers with clarification of the information.
Here is comparative traffic data that I collected this morning using SEMRUSH for 4 newsagent brands / groups.
The thing is, though, this does not matter.
What matters is what people search for online.
newsXpress has a comprehensive, easy to access, multi-faceted online strategy across multiple web platforms. Since I own a newsagency software company too, I have made sure this is easy, and successful for our members.
But back to what people search for online. Here’s a 13 minute video I made this morning that offers real data examples.
If you want revenue from online shoppers, my advice is that you seek it from multiple channels: your own website, websites connected with your marketing group, social media and more.
We have moved from the one pathway to sales, through your shop front door, to today’s world of many pathways, which often connect.
How, when and where people shop has fundamentally changed. This was happening long before Covid. But, Covid, has sped things up.
A challenge when it comes to online is trust. Plenty of people and businesses make claims. Ask for evidence supporting any claim. Their response to you asking for evidence could indicate a simple mistake, deliberate misleading or ignorance … it could also provide evidence that their claim was accurate, which would be ideal.
Online is like to gold rush era of the 1800s in Australia. It’s a rush with people of varying skills and experience our there, in the rush. take care to make informed decisions.
And, yes, it is vital you join the rush. Too much business today is transacted online for you to not engage. Engage now and expect to sell to people you’ve not sold to before.
New-look WH Smith elevates transit retail in Australia
The new format WH Smith stores at Melbourne Airport elevate transit retail in Australia. In the Virgin terminal, the main outlet looks terrific, packed with stock, well sign-posted, well laid-out and immensely stoppable.
The magazines are well organised, and full face, which I like.
Here’s a small WH Smith kiosk outlet further on the concourse.
While this transit model, a convenience model, is not my thing, I know for some newsagents it is. This is why I share these photos here.
Now, if WH Smith rolled this model out to suburban Australia, they would give newsagents and, maybe, 7-Eleven, a run for their money.
Crikey invites Murdoch
Crikey, a respected independent news outlet in Australia, yesterday invited the Murdoch organisation to sue them, to put into action threats made against Crikey.
The Lachlan Murdoch letters
Nearly two months ago, Crikey mentioned the words Murdoch and Murdochs in an article about Fox News, Donald Trump and the Jan 6 insurrection in Washington. The next day Lachlan Murdoch threatened to sue us. Today, we are publishing his legal threats — and open letters in the US and Australia inviting him to follow through. We believe in freedom of the press. We thought he did too.
Crikey has run an ad in the New York Times and the Canberra Times:
Independent journalist Mark Sawyer writing at Michael West Media provides useful and excellent background to this story.
And, as we now know, a matter in on foot.
Marijuana shops in the US offer among the best retail experiences
Whether you partake or not, visiting a marijuana shop in the US states where it has been legalised is a visit to best practice retail.
I guess because of the tough road to legalisation, the retailers have been sure to get it right in terms of layout, product information, displays and customer service.
I have seen many different shops and each was an excellent showcase of best practice retail. These photos are from MedMen in Venice Beach, LA, from a few days ago. You can see a clear and easily accessed shop layout, excellent product information available from the tablet computers, good VM and more.
The approach is professional retail. Of course, a benefit for them is that they have been able to come to this without a legacy retail experience holding them back.
Here’s the front of the MedMen shop on Fifth Avenue in New York. It looks right at home above the high fashion stores.
While, for sure, there is margin for the space, and the been to fully explain each product, these stores provide knowledge and service. Now, these two things, knowledge and service, are vital in any local specialty retail setting.
What I saw at MedMen and similar marijuana stores is a reminder of focussing on these, and providing to shoppers experiences that demonstrate strengths of the business, experiences that bud trust.
The Kanye West / GAP clothing collaboration is dark, messy and odd
I got to visit the GAP flagship store in Times Square, New York, a few days ago and see, first hand, the Kanye West clothing line launch that has been mired in negative press recently.
Upfront I need to note I am not the customer. But, I am a retailer. This felt like staged theatre, that had miss-stepped.
The idea, as I understand it, to to release a range of clothes through a retail experience that draws ‘inspiration’ from homelessness, hence the way the products are displayed in-store.
I have seen plenty of homelessness in Australia, the US and elsewhere. This did not feel connected. certainly, US$350.00 for a basic hoodie did not feel homelessness connected.
Hey, kudos to them for trying a very different approach. At the Times Square store, the whole ground floor was given over to the experience. You had to go down the escalator to the lower level for the traditional GAP experience.
For me, I think storytelling, the connection, that Kanye West claimed to be aiming for was missing. It felt like controversy created for the sake of it, to get in the news, which it has.
The whole experience did not feel like innovative or even experiential retail. To me, it felt gimmicky, attention seeking for the sake of it, without the social purpose claimed in interviews.
Here are some photos I took of what I saw. The first photo is the signs outside the business while the next three are the ‘visual merchandising’ inside.
Kanye West says this is his art and while art appreciation is subjective this does not read like art to me. The price tag for one says that – it distances the ‘art’ from the claimed intent.
But, this is a retail location designed to sell stuff, in a high-traffic location known for selling stuff. This collaboration felt off, odd … but I am glad I got to see it.
Now, for more background on this range and the story behind it, this article by Jake Silbert and published yesterday at Highsnobiety is a worthwhile read from someone more aware of Kanye, trends and the US experience.
I don’t matter any more – newspaper home delivery customer
I don’t matter anymore, the newspaper customer said on the other end of the phone a couple of days ago.
They called me because they could not get any joy from the publisher or the business responsible now for delivering their newspaper.
For years, my newsagent would fix any issue, including stolen papers.; It was easy, they told me. Now, if I can speak to someone, which is rare, nothing happens.
I don’t matter any more.
I listened to their story but could not help. This is not one of my old customers. They are not even in my state. I explained that I share their frustration.
The damage the decisions by the major newspaper publishers to their brands is considerable. But, I suspect they know what they are doing. They have made the changes that have distanced newspaper delivery from being a personal and local service to a faceless corporate service.
Wha’s the old adage: the news we value the most is local.
Two excellent gift fairs in New York
I am grateful to have been able to attend two wonderful and inspiring gift fairs in New York this week. I say grateful because of the innovative products on show, and that much of what I saw is available for supply to Australia.
While the git fairs in Australia are okay, if we want to innovate in our shops we need to see newer products, and products of=ther retailers are unlikely to stock.
NY Now was excellent and Shoppe Object was more maker / creator fresh. Both appealed to similar retailers, although some might do one show and not the other. They were a 15 minute car ride from one to the other.
Here’s a view of the floor of Shoppe Object.
I am especially interested in finding products not represented by larger wholesalers as it is this space that we find uniqueness in our marketplace, and that is valuable in retail and online today.
Newspaper digital subscription prices all over the place
The Times of the UK is offering 12 months of digital access for £1 a month.
This is a crazy price considering that digital access to The Australian for the same period costs $516.
I mention these as they are both News Corp. titles.
Looking at other titles, the prices are all over the place, but, subscription costs in Australia do seem higher.
More self-serve lottery kiosks in New York
I am not sure if it as a result of the pandemic or simply natural progression but I have noticed more lottery game and scratch ticket send-serve vending units inside retail settings, like this Hudson News outlet that I visited today at the Port Authority bus terminal:
The shop did have a lottery sales counter, but it was not obvious. In the 10 minutes I was there 1 person purchased lottery tickets at the counter and 5 or so from the self-serve unit.
Visiting Iconic on Mulberry Street, New York
Iconic on Mulberry Street New York is an awesome magazine shop, and foods / convenience outlet. It is my first time getting here a couple of days ago. It’s better laid out than the other specialty magazine shop I saw here in New York a few years ago. Take a look:
What I love about the shop is how easy it is to get around the shop. It is shapable, accessible with magazine covers easily seen.
What’s interesting is that the major weekly and monthly titles are missing, which makes sense in a specialty magazine shop – it’s what attracts shoppers prepared to travel, the magazine destination shoppers.
I’m over here for 10 days looking at interesting and innovative retail in New York, upstate New York and in Los Angeles.
More soon …
Stunning Father’s Day display
This Father’s Day display at newsXpress Sarina is stunning. Shelley and Mark run an innovative business, which is continuously evolving. What they achieve in their town, which is 30 minutes from Mackay in Queensland, is best-practice.
Their success, like this display, is their own innovation. I share it here for inspiration.
A new business insights dashboard in newsagency software offers newsagents a bright pathway
The Tower Systems newsagency software has benefited from a major update this week. While the company releases 3 or 4 updates a year, this update is special because of the new business insights platform it delivers.
There is nothing like it in any other newsagency software.
This dashboard pushed business insights, it collects, curates and presents the insights data without being asked to do so.
Whereas plenty of software programs offer reporting facilities for discovering insights, it’s a pull approach. This dashboard is a push, and it focusses on key measurement points that are vitally valuable to local small business retailers, especially retail newsagents.
This new dashboard focuses on 6 critical areas of retail to assist you on making key decisions by representing data in a graphical & easy to understand format.
These 6 metrics are among the most important metrics that Retailer should be focusing on to impact the profitability of their businesses.
- Where Are We Today – Gives you a snapshot of the overall sales & liabilities as it stands Today, this powerful tool can also be expanded to a desired time period.
- What’s Not Selling – This gives you a visual understanding of what is not performing in your business. Deadstock in any business is lost cash. This report gives you the ability to make decisions on this underperforming stock whether it be discounting or other stock reductions strategies to unlock this lost cash.
- What Am I Missing Out on – This give you a list of items that have sold out and potential missed opportunity. The visual sales history will assist in ensuring the right items are restocked to ensure future revenue is not missed out on.
- What Sells With What – This gives you an insight to consumer basket analysis. Through this you will see exactly what stock items sell with other stock items and from this you will be able to leverage upsell opportunities, co-location and promotion opportunities. This also shows the sold alone percentage so you can see item upsell efficiency.
- Is Theft An Issue – This provides a in-depth visual overview of all the retailer audit log records by reason, number of occurrences by time day. This will assist in identifying staff theft/training issues that may need to be addressed within the business.
- When Are We Busiest & Quietest – This is a visual overview detect any quiet or peak times in your business by displaying over the week as well as detailed by hour
The idea of the dashboard was mine. While the Tower newsagency software offers the insights, newsagents needed to know they wanted them, they had to look. Too many did not – for a range of reasons. Hence, the decision to create a push approach. I brought the idea to the tech team and, at the same time, tested the idea with some customers. Soon enough, we were invested.
Built from scratch by the Tower software development team, this is a significant investment of a genuine value-add for small business retailers, like retail newsagents.
Once the new dashboard was created, we showed customers in a Zoom meeting, and then we live-tested it in my own newsagency shops. Wow! The value was immediate. I saw things that I did not realise, opportunities there for the embracing. The visual ways the insights are presented are terrific, accessible.
We then offered it to the close-knit Tower Systems beta community – a community of retailers from different channels who get top test an early release of the software. Their feedback was wow, this is amazing!
Now, this week, it is available for all Tower Systems customers.
The enhancement is available to all Tower Systems customers as part of the regular update enhancement service from the company. The company is also providing complete documentation as well as training.
The what am I missing out on tab has shocked some retailers. They did not realise that they were missing so much revenue by not being consistent with re-ordering. Some retailers choose to not reorder some lines as they want to see change in their shop. That’s a reasonable decision, unless it cost the business out of certain revenue.
The goal here is to underscore business decisions with accurate data. the easier we make that data available to local small business retailers line retail newsagents the greater the value they can derive from the POS software they use, and value today is critical in every area of our retail businesses.
If you’d like to hear more about some of the insights offered in the new insights dashboard, here’s a video from me speaking about it:
Yes, I get that there will be some grinding their gears at what may read as an ad. The thing is, there has not been much genuine innovation for retail newsagents in newsagency software in recent years. There has been some enhancements connecting with The Lott, integrations with BNPL, integrations with more EFTPOS platforms, but not much innovation around newsagency retail management.
This insights dashboard is something I am proud of because it is genuinely innovative, serves the retail newsagent and is available to newsagents for no additional cost. It’s a true value-add, and we don’t see enough of that these days.
Disclosure: I own Tower Systems and am proud that my company serves more than 1,700 newsagents with newsagency software. The company also serves another 1,500 or so retailers in other specialty retail channels. If you think you might be interested in the Tower software, please email sales@towersystems.com.au.
A New York card shop used GoFundMe too help recover from a huge fire
Here’s the post announcing the fundraiser for the Essex Card Shop that was hit by fire early this year.
Help Essex Card Shop on Ave A
Hi. My name is Saba Aslam. I am making this fundraiser for our family business, Essex Card Shop located at 47 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009. Muhammad Aslam is my dad and the owner of the store, Jay Patel is my uncle and the manager of the store, and Mehnaz Noreen is my sister and works in this family business. There was a huge fire today (01/10/22 at around 4:30 pm), and the entire store is destroyed by the fire. Thank God everyone made it out alive! This fundraiser can really help this small business pick themselves up again and recover from this. Every single corner of this store is burned, damaged, and destroyed. I am 27 years old now, and I have seen this store as a part of my family ever since I was a little girl. Let us all please come together as a loving community, and help this small business rise from its ashes! It’s heartwarming to see all the love coming from the community. Please help in any way you can. Keep us in your prayers
Click here for a recent story on progress.
It’s a fascinating approach to recovery from something like this. Not sure about the legal obstacles here in Australia tho.