Leveraging licences for Valentine’s Day card sales in the newsagency
I love this Darth Vader Valentine’s Day card as it helps is make a considerably broader appeal for the season. Too many Valentine’s Day cards from all companies are sugary sweet. This one stands out not only for the Darth Vader image but for how it has been produced. It looks terrific in the card fixture but even better when stand-alone at the counter or on social media. I especially like that the card is 100% image – i.e. no words. I also like that the rose reached out from the card and can be removed as a memento.
So, this card is our feature card for the 2016 Valentine’s Day season as we seek to appeal beyond the traditional Valentine’s Day shopper.
With many other Star Wars and Darth Vader products in-store right now, the card is an excellent opportunity for non-traditional Valentine’s Day gifts as well.
We have to look at major seasons in a non-traditional way, to make the most possible from the opportunities. This is how we attract more than the usual newsagency shopper, it is how we grow our newsagency businesses.
Too often we either put product out or let suppliers put product out for a major season without thinking about special interest or niche interest opportunities we have with products. That is what I love about this card, the niche appeal. It presents us with an excellent opportunity our major card competitors – supermarkets, department stores and discount variety stores – will not embrace. This card is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the value we bring through our specialisation.
Cheap Valentine’s Day cards at Woolworths
The stand of $3 Valentine’s Day cards at Woolworths that I saw yesterday was in the high traffic ground floor entrance location of the Sydney CBD business while the higher priced Valentine’s Day cards were in the second floor card department. While I get that supermarkets are interested in what they say is a ‘value’ pitch, it is not, in my view, value in that the cards look and feel cheap compared to the regular priced cards.
Unfortunately, I suspect we will see more and more of these ‘value’ pitches the greeting card category this year and beyond. It is an overseas trend retailers here will not want to ignore.
There are too many ‘value’ models in the UK and US for Australia to not be confronted by this phenomenon. It is only a matter of time before it hits here. I have looked at two of the models in detail may have more to say about them soon.
Why we newsagents need to keep our eye on JB HiFi when it comes to greeting cards
Late in 2015 JB HiFi retail outlets started selling greeting cards. They put in a carefully selected range sourced from Hallmark. Their hip looking purpose built card units have seen are usually placed in a high traffic location, near to the counter.
The THREE FOR $10 offer is compelling. The range carefully targeted at the typical JB shopper.
My understanding is that JB management made the decision to offer a selection of cards and then looked for a supplier. They designed the display unit internally and set their own pricing.
When I first saw the display in-store two months ago I was impressed with the range. It looked different, fresh. Then I realised we have access to all these cards – yet we display them in a more traditional (boring?) way that does not allow them to be realised as being as hip or on-trend as they appear in this purpose designed fixture from JB.
Here is an electronics and entertainment retailer stepping into our space and doing it well. It will be interesting to see how cards perform for them. My guess is they will do well as the stand appeals to their shopper demo. If they are successful, it will be a combination of range curation, fixture design and shop floor placement.
We can do this folks. We can create a secondary display of cards that reaches a shopper not entering our businesses to purchase cards. We can full the stand with a selection as carefully chosen as the range from JB. And, we can fund the price point – there is enough margin in cards to do this, especially if we achieve genuine incremental revenue.
While some will be angry about the JB move, the smarter response would be to engage with cards in a fresh way, like JB has, to make a pitch that reaches those shopping with us who do not purchase cards already. We can do this.
We are in a highly disrupted marketplace where the boundaries of speciality retail channels are more blurred than ever, where retailers are chasing revenue to achieve the deepest basket possible from the traffic they achieve in-store.
So, instead of being angry or frustrated about this move, think about what you can do to create similar opportunities in your newsagency.
It’s on you. This is not a supplier challenge to resolve. No, it is your challenge because it is your newsagency.
For too long we have approached greeting cards in the same boring way. Too many newsagents have stood by watching sales remain flat or decline. Our mediocrity has allowed others to enter the space. We should have been so on top of our game, so innovative, that competitors did not risk investing in cards.
That is irrelevant now. JB is here and others are coming. We need to be more focussed than ever on our card offer. We need to be innovative beyond our own imagination.
Valentine’s Day in the US
Here is around 80% of the Valentine’s Day card range I saw in a Hallmark Gold Crown store yesterday in New York.
Whereas in Australia Valentine’s Day is primarily about acknowledging and honouring love between partners and spouses, in the US it is for all sorts of situations: to pets, from pets, between kids, aunts, uncles, grandparents, teachers, pastors … it is a broad and all-encompassing season. Great for card retailers – especially in that it educates people about card giving and receiving.
The on-trend Valentine’s offer newsagents could copy
Here is an on-trend Valentine’s pitch that I saw earlier this week. It is aimed at the 18 to 35 year old from a small card and gift shop situated outside the city, in a high street location. I am sharing the photo so people can compare their offer. Sometimes, thoughtful product selection for a display is the best way to attract the right shopper into the business.
Kid friendly approach to Valentine’s Day
I love the kid friendly approach to Valentine’s Day by this card store. It is fun and supportive and less about the more commercial aspects – other than that they want you to buy the materials for this from them of course. It is certainly a welcome difference from the usual hearts, chocolates and roses.
We card sellers do not make a good job of educating people about cards and this season in Australia.
Great post-Christmas sales in the newsagency
Boxed Christmas card sales have been fantastic in the newsagency in the five days since Christmas: $10K+. We are at 50% off and achieving more than 50% GP with these traffic generating products. We have them on the lease line to attract shoppers – who easily purchase other items on sale.
We have run this type of post Christmas sale for boxed Christmas cards for years and each year we have seen growth – rejecting the concern that discounting boxed Christmas card sales this year hurts Christmas card sales next year.
Unique card captions vital for Christmas card sales in the newsagency
Shared Many Years is a Christmas card caption newsagents offer that you will struggle to find elsewhere. It is a caption we promote – because of the point of difference it reflects. It is another of the captions we have thoughtfully placed so people looking for a specific caption card can find it rather than buying a general Christmas card.
Christmas is an ideal opportunity for us to pitch our specialisation in the greeting card space. The more we do that this time of the year the more cards we can expect to sell through the year.
I urge newsagents to look thoughtfully at current card placement and to relay the Christmas cards to maximise the point of difference.
Make sure you have cards placed for easy purchase
Guys are not great at finding cards,particularly young guys who are not that used to being cards. That is why we ensure that cards like For My Girlfriend, are placed for easy discovery in the newsagency Christmas card selection. By placed for easy discovery I mean right in front of their faces.
Too often I see For My Girlfriend cards placed down low in the Christmas card display. I like this caption to be at eye level as these guys often tend to not go looking for their cards. The easier we make it for guys the better.
Kikki K competing with newsagents for greeting cards
Kikki K is pitching strong competition with newsagents this Christmas with their three for two offer for Christmas cards. Their approach is the same as Typo but for an older shopper. It is in every Kikki K store I have seen. Be aware of this.
The Kikki K offer is differentiating compared to the traditional newsagency offer unless you are doing the Hallmark Hot Press 3 for $10 offer or unless you run a front-end loyalty offer like discount vouchers. In fact, in my own newsagency, the discount voucher offer is better value than the Kikki K for. However, I don’t have the resources Kikki K has to promote.
If you have this Hallmark Christmas card…
I expect this Hallmark Christmas card, a money wallet, will sell out quickly. It is a terrific card out at the right time of the year, in time for the release of the new Star Wars movie.
This is a card to place with Star Wars licenced product as well as with your Christmas cards. However, it is best displayed with the full card on show. If you can get more stock, I suggest you do – based on sales so far of Star Wars licenced items.
I like the card because people will buy it for family and friends at Christmas. It is an easy sell.
Leveraging the card purchase in the newsagency
I have written here several times encouraging newsagents to promote selected small plush items in the card department, outlining how this low-cost up-sell pitch is easy to implement.
This is something we have been doing for more than two years. We keep doing it because it is successful. I am surprised more newsagents do not do this. As I noted, it is easy and low-cost.
The placement also works at attracting shoppers to the card department when they notice the small plush items. So, it drives plush sales as well as card sales.
Our most recent engagement with the tactic is by promoting new Beanie Kids from Korimco with new parent and new baby cards in the card department. It is working a treat.
It s vitally important we make the most of every opportunity in our newsagencies. Deeper baskets, increased margin dollars per purchase, are key factors to success. We achieve this by working every opportunity possible.
How can you sell cards to new customers if you leave them in the card department?
I have seen four or five card shops in New York this week with displays of greeting cards and wrap in their shopfront windows. Yes, they are pitching cards to people on the street. I have written about this several times before – that we ought to promote cards outside the card department, we should use them to drive traffic for our businesses. A display like you can see in this photo pitches the shop as a card specialist whereas a spinner of cards does not.
Newsagents ought to consider hiPP for fresh packaging and stationery
hiPP is a stand out supplier for on-trend stationery and gift packaging. If you want a point of difference I urge you to consider them.
The photo shows part of the range on show at the Reed Gift Fair in Sydney.
I particularly like the notecard packs and that they have two designs each pack – look at the left side of the photo. I also like the marble design bags, wrap, invitations, thank you notes and napkins.
Everything I saw on the hiPP stand is worth considering if you want a point of difference in these product categories in your newsagency.
Sure, your existing card and wrap suppliers will probably not want you to consider hiPP. I’d suggest you ignore them as hiPP products have a broader appeal than products from everyday card and gift suppliers. You won’t see hiPP in supermarkets or mass variety, for example.
Suppliers need to understand that having a point of difference is important to small business newsagents, to major retailers especially. This is where specialty design-led suppliers like hiPP can work well for us. Through their products we can frame our narrative of specialty retail. This narrative will help drive sales of the everyday mass range as well.
My advice for newsagents taking on hiPP is that you introduce one or two themes with aisle-end displays, capping your main magazine aisle. Showcase the designs to shoppers not shopping for these products today. They are so unique and so well made that people will purchase on impulse for future use. That is how they have worked for me. This approach also enables you to offer the range without taking product away from existing suppliers.
In terms of product display, I’d encourage you to display hiPP or similar design-led products in a way that respects their design. i.e. not on hang sell. Consider using a piece of furniture to feature the products Pitch the products as differently as they look compared to other wrap and card products you have. Your display ought to reflect the difference.
I have loaded a high res image so you can see the detail. Click on the photo.
When do you put out boxed Christmas cards?
I like to get boxed Christmas cards out early to make the most of the opportunity right through the season. My experience is that between early September and late January a range of different customers purchase boxed Christmas cards. Having a good range of stock out and in the right location is key to leveraging the opportunity.
This post today is about the kick off of boxed Christmas cards. When do you put them out in your newsagency?
For me boxed card season starts now to get the early movers … they are lucrative shoppers. The early sales help you spot trends from the range you have in-store.
Footnote: the display of boxed cards is not important. Flat on a table works fine for us.
What do you do with unsold seasonal greeting cards?
We put unsold greeting cards from seasons on sale for a couple of days after the season . The usual discount is 50%. We pick up extra revenue and bank margin dollars considering the rebate from the card company. We also discount gifts in this sale that very specific to the season that will not rest well in the everyday gift department.
This approach works well for us in a shopping centre where many of our customers are not regulars.
If the business was in a country town or a high street situation with more regular customers, I might not engage in this practice as it could educate shoppers to wait for the discount.
Our Father’s Day experience shows how our approach works for us.
With little stock left, the empty pockets on the card stand played into the discount opportunity. Some customers purchased for late Father’s Day cards while others purchased for next year. Given many of our customers are not local or regular, the impact on next year will be minimal if at all.
Talking with suppliers and retailers here and overseas, it is common customers who purchase cards for future purposes lose them or forget about them.
While revenue from post seasonal sales is small, it is worth reducing the cards we return and attracting bonus traffic for the sale we run for a couple of days.
I would be interested for others to share their experiences.
Reminder of the stamp up-sell with the greeting card purchase
This simple sign I saw in in the card department of a bookshop in London yesterday is something we could use in our newsagencies.
It looks professional, part of the fixture and delivers such a simple statement.
This pitch is perfect in location and execution.
A message like this could also drive card sales as it makes using a card easier. Imagine if you see a card you like and want to send it right away before you forget but you do not have a stamp. The sign eliminates that barrier.
Small moves like these can drive good outcomes for our businesses. They cost almost nothing to implement yet can drive valuable sales for us.
There is no one big move newsagents can make to drive better outcomes for their businesses. Success comes from many small steps, like this simple sign in the card department.
I think some in our channel obsess about big things, often things over which they have little control, and ignore small steps they can make in their businesses that will 9increase revenue and traffic.