A blog on issues affecting Australia's newsagents, media and small business generally. More ...

Author: Mark Fletcher

11,500+ daily visitors to the newsagency blog

Thinking about some of the comments recently published at this blog I thought I’d check the current traffic landing here. I’ve not looked for a couple of years since I don’t write most of what I write seeing to drive traffic.

Currently, this blog is landing in excess of 11,500 visitors a day, as measured by professional web traffic tools.

One traffic analysis tool that I use in my POS software company tracks ‘competitor’ sites as it sees competitors – based on common keywords. While Newspaper attracts more daily visits, this blog offers more keywords and achieves greater dwell time, which indicates more reading.

Looking at the 14,000+ keywords Google indexes from this blog, the mix is interesting and diverse. Even this list of the first few keywords shops not only the traffic generators but the number of daily searches in Australia for each.

Now, let’s scroll down to the 45th page of this keyword report and look at the tip of the tail of keywords.

I share all of this information with you today for several reasons:

  1. To demonstrate that everything here is public, including comments, speaking to the place of newsagencies in Australian business and society more broadly.
  2. To show that nothing here is lost. The 12,000 posts form an extensive body of work.
  3. To encourage more business focussed discourse. Disagreement is healthy, and to be encouraged. However, it’s important we all accept that disagreement does not determine right from wrong.
  4. To show that the newsagency channel and associated keywords are popular and driving plenty of Google clicks.
  5. To reinforce that what we talk about here is interesting to plenty.
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Blogging

Newsagency marketing group workshop tomorrow

If you are considering joining a newsagency marketing group this year, any newsagency marketing group, join me tomorrow, Tuesday jan. 12 at 10:30am, for a Zoom meeting where the newsXpress services and engagement opportunities will be shared and discussed:

https://zoom.us/j/95381467491?pwd=WEZDbEtWS0ovSmR0VjEyREg2bzE3dz09
Meeting ID: 953 8146 7491 Passcode: 861573

newsXpress is a newsagency marketing group offering business transformation advice and help, access to new suppliers through which you can attract new shoppers, encouragement, display advice and much more.

Nothing it does or or suggests is mandatory. You get to run your business the way you choose. The difference is you have options and opportunities from which you can choose as appropriate.

Click here for a refreshed document outlining what newsXpress offers members in 2021.

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Newsagency management

Naracoorte News going strong

It is terrific seeing the Naracoorte News going strong. remember, this newspaper was launched in the middle of Covid last year, in response to a local newspaper closing. I love their listing at their website of retailers carrying Naracoorte News.

I also love their approach to encouraging local business support, through their sponsorship program. This is smart for them and smart for local businesses.

Local newspapers like the Naracoorte News are vital to local communities. I hope it continues to thrive.

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Newspapers

Excellent tea towel sales in the newsagency

Sales of tea towels and related products have been excellent these last six months. Early data indicate the success is continuing, for plenty of stores.

Often, 2 and 3 are purchased in a transaction and half purchases are males for themselves, because they like the designs. Some even said they would put the tea towel in a frame for their man cave.

For what it’s worth, my take on the success is that it is due to:

  • Unexpected. We are not a destination tea towel / apron / oven mitt shop so when they see them it is a surprise, they are noticed.
  • Design. The designs are fresh, fun and local.
  • Postable. Postable gifts have been very popular.
  • Telling a story. Within some ranges, like the one featured here, there are multiple products that work well together, enabling a shopper to tell a story, completing a gift to a target value.
  • Price does not matter. You know you have a winning product when shoppers are not curious about the price.

FYI the photo is from my own high street store, from a couple of days ago.

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Gifts

A photo tip if you have a website for your newsagency

A common mistake retailers make with their online businesses is product photos. More often than not the photos are awful – often poor resolution, too much other stuff in the photo or not unique to the business.

Here are my tips:

  1. Take your own photos. A phone camera is good enough. While using supplier photos is temping, it will not differentiate your business.
  2. One product per photo. Too many products in a photo will negatively impact the experience for the online shopper.
  3. Be consistent in photographic style.
  4. Clear the background. See below. The first photo is one I took and the second is the same photo with a cleared background ready for a website. The second photo has not been touched up in any way other than removing the background. It clearly demonstrates the value of removing the background.

There are plenty of ways to quickly and easily clear the background. I have a commercial Canva licence. The above second photo took 5 seconds.

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Management tip

Mask shortage in Brisbane

Several newsagents have contacted me re a shortage of masks for store staff. My advice is if you are in a marketing group, check with them urgently as they are likely to have suppliers with mask stock. I know from a newsXpress perspective there are six with stock of disposables well as reusable masks. newsXpress itself hold stock for emergency supply too.

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Social responsibility

This back to school season, please shop your local newsagency

If you are shopping for back to school supplies, please shop your local newsagency, yes your local newsagency.

Your local newsagency will be most likely locally owned and locally connected and supportive of local community groups.

Sure some overseas companies and big national retailers will claim their products are cheaper. Sometimes, price does not make something cheaper. One shopper told me recently about a stationery item they bought a while from a national retailer than was 10% cheaper than our price. The item broke after a few days. They then bought from us and the replaced item is still going strong, months later.

Oh, and if you think the local newsagency is some old and out of date shop from the past, think again. Many local Aussie newsagencies have changed, offering brand name stationery you can trust, on-trend gifts you will love to give and the most amazing range of cards you will see.

Yes, the local Australian newsagency has changed. Well, most have changed. They are fun places to shop, fresh, current and relevant to the needs of 2021.

For back to school stationery needs, start at your local newsagency. Supporting them helps them support your local school community. You see that every day through local newsagent support for school students, school groups. Every day newsagents are asked for support and donations for local community groups, including school groups. They can only do this if there is robust local support for their businesses.

Please don’t be duped by the truckloads of cash poured into advertising by competitors chasing your back to school spend. They have the cash to do this, to make it look like they have good products and good prices. Often, when they say they will price match, they don’t sell the same brands, often selling cheap imported products only available through them.

Your local newsagent is a perfect place to shop for back to school for quality, service and community connection.

Now, if you are preparing to comment to say that the local newsagency is dead, out of date, expensive or in some other way failed, please don’t. Too often, former newsagents and failed newsagents hop on here to try and bring down the channel they left.

Your local Australian newsagency is most likely offering a fresh retail experience to the one you remember. If you are looking for back to school products, start there, start local, at your local Aussie newsagency.

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Stationery

State border closures crippling border communities

A colleague shared this with me yesterday …

BORDER CLOSURES ARE CRIPPLING BORDER COMMUNITIES.

BORDER COMMUNITIES EITHER CLOSED, SERIOUSLY DISRUPTED OR RESTRICTED FOR 38 WEEKS

I call on all State and Federal Governments to have a nationwide plan of action to deal with small COVID outbreaks in the future other than to just close borders with neighbouring states, the biggest impact of closing borders is to once again negatively impact small regional communities who are bearing the brunt of these decisions unnecessarily.

Border communities have just become punching bags caught in the political crossfire of city centric politicians. Politicians on both sides of our river are making decisions with no consideration of the economic and social impact that this is having on our communities whilst hiding behind the rhetoric of protecting the majority, who happen to live in our larger cities.

Depression and anxiety are being exacerbated by the ongoing uncertainty of Border closures. Our families and communities are now experiencing extreme hardship and there is no end in sight. Our community has faced too many barriers over 38 weeks, and we are not getting the support or attention we need.

On the 31st December 2020 at 3pm, the Victorian Government announced a hard border closure to NSW. More than 3,000 tourists had to pack up and flee our small town to make it over the Border before midnight. Millions of dollars in revenue were lost from our community overnight and not least of all many families annual holiday was stripped from them with very little consideration of the impact this will have on these families who have had significant imposts placed on their freedoms for the majority of this 2020.

We are only 6 days into 2021 and already our business has suffered a 55% reduction in sales for the same period last year, whilst much resilience has been shown by many businesses in 2020 the most frustrating part of this latest situation is that it has been created by a poorly considered  government decision.

Local communities and businesses have been extremely resilient and creative to ensure their survival, it is now time for all levels of state and federal Governments to step up and show some real leadership on this matter, not just play popularity politics.

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Social responsibility

February Reed and AGHA gift fairs in Sydney face challenges with growing Covid infections

With interstate travel restricted and visitor traffic limited, It is no wonder some suppliers are cancelling or re-thinking plans to participate in the trade shows next month.

I’d normally attend with 30 or 40 colleagues. None are attending. In my own case, the prospect of a 14 day quarantine requirement being lifted by then are slim, certainly good doubtful to risk making all of the necessary arrangements.

Smart suppliers have virtual plans in place. Some have already engaged and are pitching what they would otherwise have launched in February. Those without a contingency plan will miss out on business.

Even if you can get to the show, the value for supplies looks likely to be compromised with reduced numbers allowed on each stand. Several suppliers have raised this with me this week – saying the restrictions make attending uneconomic for them.

These are not unique challenges for Australia. It is major trade show season for toys, gifts, gave and related products in the US, UK, Hong Kong and China. Almost every trade show event is focussed on virtual engagement.

It is kinda surprising that Reed and AGHA proceed as they did. Some other major Aussie trade shows in this first quarter decided to go virtual.

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Social responsibility

Anti-maskers disrupt small business retail and distress frontline staff

Anti-maskers tend to be loud and rude in retail, on to of being ignorant.

I’ll shop where I want. You can’t make me wear a mask, said the thirty-something shopper who was asked to leave for not wearing a mask. Go fuck yourself loser, they said as they stormed out.

I shouldn’t have to wear a mask, they are uncomfortable, said the sixty or seventy-something shopper. When asked leave, they retorted, this is the last time I shop here. This was in Victoria yesterday, where masks in shops are mandated by law.

It’s a hoax, it’s all a hoax, masks are a joke, they want you to choke. The person shouting this at the entrance to the shop was wearing a bandage as if to hide their identity but not and a mask. They were going from shop to shop shouting this.

Don’t shop here. It’s run by a Nazi who demands we wear masks. Freedom! This is a sign stick on the front window os a small local shop.

Every attack hurts the business and those who work in the business.

During the second wave in Victoria I heard of some attacks. I have heard of many more in the last week, from Sydney and from Melbourne situations.

The worst situations are the attacks at the counter on retail staff. In one of my own shops this happened yesterday. It was loud and nasty. It impacted the team member it was directed at.

Anti-maskers are selfish in my view and either out to cause trouble or they are ignorant.

Masks have been proven to work. They keep us safe and those we are in contact with safe. In retail especially they are critical is reducing the opportunity for infection, and that is key in Melbourne and Sydney right now.

Anti-maskers are making working in retail more stressful right now. The harm they are causing is significant. I suspect this is what they want.

Retailers in shopping centres can call security, but they often arrive too late.

I’d kinda like to spray them with a bright dye that tags them as an ignorant anti-masker, but I know I can’t. Doing so would be irrational and I kinda want to match their irrational approach to masks with an irrational response. At least the dye would not harm them physically.

Here in Victoria in my own shops we have regularly posted positive mask related messages on social media, appreciating the commitment of customers. However, it only takes 1 in 500 to be a dickhead and cause disruption and hurt in the shop for that to be remembered ahead of plenty of good experiences.

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Social responsibility

A cautionary tale re online advertising

Marketing Today host Alan Hart interviews Kevin Frisch, who was recently the CMO of Wag and before that the head of performance marketing, and CRM for Uber.  In this interview they discuss a Ange of topics related to online advertising and, in particular, fraud occurring with online advertising as experienced by Uber.

It is a stunning expose of a scam that cost Uber millions. In online advertising is interesting to you, I think you will find this interview fascinating.

The discussion at around 15 minutes about how they acquire customers is fascinating as is the realisation about how much money Uber spend on pointless advertising.

Online ad platforms accessed through third parties make fraud as described easier.

In my own businesses we rarely advertise online now. We have never used third party platforms to place ads for us, thankfully.

3 likes
Ethics

Advice on back to school shopping for the 2021 school year if you care about your local community and local jobs

Parents, schools and others, if you are shopping for back to school stationery items this year, please shop thoughtfully.

  • Shop locally, from an Australian owned business. P{preferably, from a business in your local community.
  • Support the local businesses local community groups are likely to call on.
  • If you have a choice, choose locally made items.
  • Buy what you need, don’t be tricked by a volume price deal that may see you buy items you will later waste.
  • See price guarantees for what they are – lazy marketing from businesses that don’t put in the hard work.
  • Quality is more important than price.

A price difference may not be what it seems. It could be due to lesser quality, or the supplier not supporting your community groups or the supplier sourcing products made in a cheap labour country, which does not help local Aussie jobs.

Newsagents are usually in the first businesses to be asked by community groups and schools for donations. It is unreasonable to do this unless you help them win business. This is just one reason your shopping local for back to school products matters.

Beware claims of big savings. One major stationery business is currently claiming that parents are saving on average more than 25% by shopping with them. This is a business that makes genuine price comparison difficult because of the volume of house brand product. I know of several newsagents who have price checked for local families and found the difference to be less than 5%.

Back to school is, for sure, an expensive time for families. Saving money is appealing. However, it is critical to be sure that the savings are real and that money you are spending benefits the economy on which you rely.

A small higher price could be for better quality product, local community group support, school support or for supporting local jobs, thereby putting money in the local economy, which helps fund, maybe local jobs on which school parents themselves rely.

Yes, the economy is that circular.

I guess my key message to parents re back to school is to take your time, do your research, understand the bigger picture, beside you know how your decision may impact yourself and those close to you.

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Social responsibility

Suppliers benefiting from being open when usually closed

I know of several family small, niche, gift related wholesalers / makers who opened last week and benefited as a result.

In each case they run a small warehouse out of their own office and are able to pack and ship without a large staff infrastructure.

Them being open and communicating this meant that plenty of retailers ordered top-up stock from them. The retailers may not have done this, or not noticed the opportunity, had more suppliers been open.

One of the lessons from Covid is to be opportunistic, to act deliberately to leverage opportunities you feel may be there. This goes back to what I wrote on December 21 about January plans.

One of my own shops would usually close between Christmas and New Year. This year we opened. The result was well worthwhile. We compete in our high street situation with several other stores selling gifts and cards. They were open. We all had the same idea. I suspect they did as well as us.

January will be different this year. Holiday patterns and arrangements have changed.

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Opportunistic retail

New newsagency sales benchmark study launched

I sent an email to newsagents earlier this morning calling for data for a new newsagency sales benchmark study.

This is an important study as it will provide a glimpse into an important quarter, which is likely to provide an insight into early 2021.

Here is the full text of the call for participation.

Q4 2020 NEWSAGENCY SALES BENCHMARK STUDY.
I am collating data for a new benchmark study, looking at sales October through December 2020 versus 2019.

How to participate.

  1. Please run a Monthly Sales Comparison Report for 01/10/2020 – 31/12/2020 compared to 01/10/2019 – 31/12/2019.
  2. Tick the category box. IMPORTANT.
  3. Tick to exclude home delivery and sub agent data.
  4. DO NOT tick the supplier box.
  5. Preview the report on the screen. Save as a PDF.
  6. Email these reports direct to me at mark@towersystems.com.au.
  7. Read the report yourself and see what it shows you about your business.

I will email the results to all participating newsagents and publish the results on theAustralian Newsagency Blog as a service for all newsagents.

I own and run three newsagencies. Over the years I have had three others. I own newsXpress, the newsagency marketing group.

I am grateful that Tower Systems has added 35 newsagents as customers in the last year as customers of our newsagency software,

As I have done rolling smaller dataset studies monthly for the back half of 2020, I think I have an idea of that this bigger study will reveal. But, who knows?!

Oh, and … happy new year!

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Newsagency benchmark

When 2020 began

When 2020 began, we were in the dark about what was coming for us, for all of us. We had our resolutions, plans and hopes. We had our cherished dreams.

We were unprepared for how 2020 would play out.

The hopes and dreams we started the year with were soon forgotten as the pandemic took over the news, our businesses, our home life and our focus.

2020 sure has been a year.

Looking back, we see heartbreaking human loss and economic challenges, which, sadly for too many, continue today.

Looking back, we also see many wonderful achievements.

There are the big pieces like the 1,000s of scientists working together to create vaccines in record time, people and businesses fundamentally changing how they work and politicians, for a moment, setting aside traditional differences to actually do good.

There is the good news of whole communities working together to ensure people remain safe and to get the numbers down.

In small business, where we spend much of our time, we have seen wonderful acts of kindness, extraordinary local shopper support, greater resilience and deeper community connections. It has been a joy to hear stories of locals consciously shopping locally and genuinely being interested in product sourcing.

We have all learnt so much about ourselves this year, what we can do, the differences we can make, new friends we can serve.

As the sun sets on 2020, we are grateful for this year, for the opportunity to be part of it and to be here, at the end, stronger and grateful for what 2021 will offer.

Happy New Year. May your 2021 be healthy, happy and filled with gratitude.

30 likes
Social responsibility

Tip: don’t discount calendars

Calendar Club has done its best to teach Australians that calendars need to be discount to sell. While their business has been successful, grabbing plenty of calendar revenue in shopping centres, they have not ‘educated’ everyone that the only way to sell calendars is to discount them.

We don’t discount calendars and can get full price through to early in the second half of the year.

The key is to purchase so that you sell out before then. Also, the more niche the title, the less price pressure.

So, we are not discounting calendars and so far this year we are up more than 50% on last year’s good base.

Calendars remain a strong category, nicely complimentary to diaries, which are strong, too.

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Calendars

Excellent newspaper sales in December in the newsagency

In our high street newsagency we are tracking excellent year on year results for newspapers with dailies up 12% and foreign language newspapers up 25% – based on unit sales.

I’d be interested to hear how newspapers have gone for others through December.

I expect high street, regional and rural businesses will have similar results to the above. I think the Covid bump will be here for some time, hopefully long term. And, by bump, I mean – more people shopping any from malls and more people buying papers, especially foreign language papers.

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Newspapers

A very different Boxing Day

If the small dataset I have seen plays out nationally, Boxing Day 2020 will be down on 2019 in over the counter purchases while online will be well up, resulting is numbers close to last year.

Of course, the results vary by location. In Victoria, for example, shopping centre traffic was down Boxing Day 2020.

The strength of online on Boxing Day, even for sites without deals, speaks to a strong future for trading online.

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Newsagency management

Commercial tenancy relief scheme for Victorian small business retailers

The Victorian Government is facilitating more proactive help for Covid impacted small business retailers through its Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme.

Critically, small business retailers can apply for free mediation with the Victorian Small Business Commissioner to resolve a rent dispute. This could be a good way to bring forward the resolution of any dispute re rent relief arrangements.

I know of several retailers who could benefit from this.

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Newsagency management

All set for Boxing Day

It’s all set to start, the annual Boxing Day Sale. In our shopping centre locations, this is a key sale event for the year. It will be interesting to see how it plays out this year.

We have old stock to move and plenty off stock brought in for the event. Christmas has been taken down and the shop reset for a sale feel.

If you are running a Boxing Day Sale this year, happy trading!

3 likes
Newsagency management
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