We got an online sale Saturday night for $153.89 to someone who lives a ten minutes from the shop. They knew they were purchasing local but did not take much notice of where we were since they don’t often come to the big shopping centre.
Now that they know what we have and are so close, they have said they will come in because previously they had only bought this specific category online.
We found them through the website and the service provided helped connect them with the physical store.
Every day or so this story repeats and online sales grow and as a web presence plays a more important role in being found by shoppers looking for products we sell. Doing this through interest categories and / or brands is valuable as it puts us in front of people who would not look in a newsagency for what we sell.
We knew websites are used to guide in-store purchases from research by Telstra and others. Experiencing this first have for a product category that ends itself to repeat business is most encouraging.
Having a good website is key. It being easily found is also key. These things deliver online revenue but, better still, can drive in-store purchase.
Oh, and the product in this transaction is not a usual newsagency line … and, it has a >50% gross profit.
We changed the small square Facebook icon photo last week and a few minutes later we had a sale of the item featured in the photo. The photo of the Harry Potter school bag was a hit. We used the photo because we liked it, not actually expecting to make an immediate sale. The experience was a timely rem under two regularly change this photo and to do it regularly.
Every year I publish Christmas marketing ideas. This year, I have put together a small list of my favourite ideas.
Pitch easy shopping. People often talk about how hard Christmas is. Be the local business that makes it easy. Tell people how you make it easy.
Make the shop less about Christmas. Consider pulling back on the Christmas visual noise. Go for something simple, muted, respecting the season but making a calm statement. Consider declaring the shop a Christmas carol free zone – not because you hate carols but because you want to help customers take a break.
Help people rest and recharge. Create a Christmas shopping rest and recovery zone. Offer free tea, coffee, water and something to eat. Encourage people to take a break in your shop – without any obligation for them to spend money with you.
Let your customers help each other. Setup a whiteboard or sheets of butcher’s paper, yes keep it simple. Get customers to write gift suggestions under different age/gender groups. For example: Girls 18 – 25, Boys 55+. Encourage your customers to help each other through their suggestions.
Make price comparison difficult. If you sell items people are likely to price compare with other businesses, package them so price comparison is not easy. Put items into a hamper as a perfect Boy 8 to 12 bundle for example. Or offer the item with pre packages services if appropriate for an item.
Be community minded. Choose a local charity or community group to support through Christmas. Consider: a change collection tin at the counter; a themed Christmas window display; promotion on your social media pages; a donation to their work; a collection point for donations from customers.
Facilitate sharing stories. Find space in your shop for customers to share their Christmas stories. It could be a story wall inside or in front of the shop. This initiative encourages storytelling by locals and better connects the business with the community.
Leverage Christmas traffic. Encourage the Christmas shopper traffic surge in after Christmas. Give them a reason to come back. A coupon promotion or a discount voucher on receipts could be the enticement to get shoppers back in-store. Note: the Tower POS software produces discount vouchers to rules you establish.
Become a gallery. Work with a school, kindergarten, community group or retirement village to bring in local art for people to come and see through Christmas. A small space commitment can drive traffic from family and friends of those with art on show.
Make your shop smell like Christmas.
Send cards. Send Christmas cards early in the season to suppliers, key customers and local community groups. This connects you with Christmas. Invite all team members to sign each card.
Host a Christmas party. For shops nearby. You are all in the season together – let your hear down before things get crazy.
Keep it fresh. Every week make significant change to your Christmas displays and promotions to keep your offer fresh.
Share Christmas recipes. Each week for, say, four weeks, give customers a family Christmas recipe. This personalises Christmas in your business, creates a talking point and makes shopping with you different to your bigger competitors.
Free wrapping. Sure, many retailers offer this. Make your offer better, more creative and more appreciated.
Hold back. Don’t go out with everything you have for Christmas all at once. Plan the season to show off what you have as the season unfolds. This allows you multiple launches.
Share a taste. Regardless if your type of business, bake a family recipe of Christmas cake, Christmas pudding or Christmas biscuits and offer tastings to shoppers on select days. This personalises the experience in your shop.
Offer hampers. Package several items together and offer them as a hamper. Time-poor shoppers could appreciate you doing this work for them. We have seen this work in many different retail situations.
Buy X get Y. Encourage people to spend more with a volume based deal. Pitched right, this could get customers purchasing items for several family members in order to get the price offer you have. Use your technology to manage this.
Christmas is the perfect time to plan for next year. It is the time to do everything possible to leverage bonus Christmas traffic to benefit your business through next year.
I am grateful for the opportunity to visit an extraordinary display of Mickey Mouse memorabilia last month in Hong Kong as part of the 90th birthday celebrations. On show at this wonderful licence event were pages or original sketches of the character and a video paying of the first film. Mickey Mouse continues to be a commercially valuable licence for retailers focussed on licenced product. The Hallmark Mickey cards work a treat as to the collectibles, art pieces and gift lines. This licence is valuable across generations.
This video promoting jigsaws has been a hit. I created it, using a video service I pay to access, as a disposable promotion of jigsaws. I say disposable because that is how we need to see social media content – content to throw up and not think about it as we move on to the next post.
Looking back, though, this jigsaw post got good engagement in a couple of places with people commenting about liking the batteries comment.
I like the jigsaw category in that it fits with the crossword magazine category, is family friendly and lends itself to show floor engagement.
What I have done here is easy. Anyone could do it for little or no cost. The point of my post is that this category is ripe for social media promotion, interest is on the increase.
The 3M Win a Ford Mustang competition is a terrific opportunity to promote and sell stationery. Any retailer can participate with the key being that your receipts detail the 3M products purchased, which is easy in your newsagency software. Customers can enter through the 3M website (click here to see) – there is no paper entry form or other process for retailers to follow.
There is a lot to like about this promotion, including the $10.00 minimum spend on a receipt requirement to be eligible to enter.
Here are the 3M brands that are being pitched through the promotion:
The American Express Shop Small campaign brings valuable and appreciated focus to small and local businesses. While I don’t have engagement data, it does feel like the campaign has built a good following among shoppers and small businesses.
Last year, American Express made changed to its fees:
We made sweeping changes to the fees we charge merchants and this fee is now between 1.5-2 per cent for an American Express card payment. Our merchant network is growing and since January 2017 over 120,000 new places joined the American Express network across Australia. We are committed to ensuring that as many places as possible welcome American Express to give our card members the best experience.
These changes make accepting American Express for payment more appealing for small businesses and thereby makes the Shop Small campaign even more interesting.
Shop Small gains attention where shoppers are – online, on mainstream media.
Their website makes it easy for shoppers to find participating businesses through a map. Amex Australia says that last year, there were 851,000 views of the map. They also say that through the money, Amex card members spent $675M in small businesses. I like this connection as it provides small businesses a way to connect and be found. Today, more than ever, there are more routes to our businesses and every single one is worth pursuing.
If you take Amex as payment I think it would be worthwhile engaging with the campaign.
Click here to access this video for sharing on social media.
Sometimes, the best social media posts are those that are just because. You know what I mean, a fun image just because it is fun or a cute video you share just because it is cute. Posts do not need to have any commercial focus or intent, and often commercial benefits can flow.
This video is a good example of just because social media content.
I like the Aldi campaign on TV at the moment about loyalty programs and, specifically, points. I like it because it reflects my view, that points programs are often confusing and the points themselves, worthless. Here is the ad in case you have not seen it.
It is typical Aldi: fun and direct, unambiguous.
Regulars here will know more preference for discount vouchers, immediate rewards, real rewards, over points based loyalty. I switched from a magazine club card in my newsagency – buy 11 magazines and get your 12th for free (up to the value of $10) – in February 2013. It has been a ripper of a success.
While POS software and newsagency software from the software company I own offers a terrific points based loyalty program as well as integration with FlyBys and other third-party loyalty offers, it is discount vouchers that many of the 3,500+ small businesses using the software rave about.
Discount vouchers are not like pointless points based programs depicted and mocked in the Aldi TVC. A discount voucher is a real cash amount off your next purchase, off the usual purchase price. Given that the price of many items in newsagency businesses are standardised nationally, the discount is real, it is trusted.
The Aldi ad makes the point that genuinely better prices are more useful and valuable than pointless points. The experience in my own shops is testament to that. People like the ease of the program, the real discount, that there is no cumbersome process, that they understand it and that it is authentic.
Through lever settings in the software, retailers control the value of discount accrued, what it can be redeemed on and the shelf-life of the discount. This helps us ensure that the discount voucher operates as a genuine revenue driver, delivering considerably more benefit than cost. There is excellent reporting on shopper behaviour, which feeds into adjustments of the levers to maximise the benefit for the business.
This brings me bask to the new Aldi TV commercial. Their pitch is differentiating. While their main competitors, Cokes and Woolworths, each pitch points-based programs that are complex and offer little in real value, Aldi says it is every day price that matters. I think that is a message that will resonate. I say that based on shopper feedback for the discount vouchers, we have shoppers who say they have switched because of the value they get. That started in 2013 and we continue to hear it today.
I put our above average performance in core categories like cards and magazines down to discount vouchers. Data reflect this as I can see where voucher value is accused and where it is spent. magazines, in particular, benefit.
The more we differentiate our businesses from competitors the better.
My POS software company produced this un-branded marketing video for its small business retail customers to use if they wish on social media and elsewhere.
We are getting a good reaction to the different Father’s Day pitch. Here is some of the select that is attracting shoppers. We have deliberately selected items that will have appeal beyond the season and items that will attract people who might otherwise not shop a newsagency for the season.
Here is a 9 second video provided to newsXpress members yesterday for promoting shop local for the Powerball $100M jackpot. The objective was to create something different to the usual lottery marketing and something that could be used across Australia.
Most marketing videos for social media are disposable. That is, you use them once or twice and never again. People want fresh and entertaining content. This is also why short videos work well.
I would be happy to detail here marketing collateral from other marketing groups for this Powerball jackpot.
We are in a period of glory days for all things cute. You only have to look at the shelves of K-Mart, Target, Typo, Smiggle and other retailers to see the value they place in cute products to drive traffic and revenue.
Cute comes in many sizes, shapes and colours, and in different products including cards, games, toys, gifts, wrap and more.
What is interesting abut cute is that people purchase cute items because they are cute, nor necessarily because they have an immediate need or because of product function. This is what makes cute products valuable.
The Guardian published an article in 2016 that explored the science of cute. A quick online search soon reveals pen ty of articles about cute and why cute products sell. While rooted in Asian, and, in particular, Japanese, culture, interest in cute is worldwide.
In a newsagency today you can leverage cute through existing product categories of cards, gifts, plush and toys, even more. To maximise the opportunity, however, you need to promote outside the business, to connect with people who might otherwise not visit the shop to see what you have to offer in the cuteness space.
Using a keyword analysis tool, I can see that there are in excess of 100,000 cute related searches online in Australia ever month. man of these searches relate to products. People are looking for cute products. This is a need we can serve in our evolving newsagency businesses. Sure, it is hard to play in a space that is not easily understood. However, there are groups, suppliers and others ho can help.
Take a moment and do your own research. be aware of what other retailers around you are selling. Test some products yourself. Test, too, a cute approach to product displays – there are many inspiring images online to guide you.
Testing is important because playing in the space of cuteness is all about playing in a way with products and opportunities outside what may be usual in your business. You are unlikely to have a relevant reference point. This is why I suggest playing, experimenting.
Cute is popular right now. Find ways to embrace not and you may tape into a new source of customers for your business and that has to be goal #1 right now.
I love the new Australia Post Everyone matters campaign, which launched at the weekend. Each video humanises Australia Post and those who provide services through them and those who use their services in an emotionally engaged way. Well done to everyone involved.
The best way for people to see your business and what you sell in a different light is to show them through your visual merchandising. Here are four inspiring examples from the many I saw last week.
You can choose to display products like a shopkeeper or a retailer. These examples are from retailers. They pitch a different, more engaged, more inspiring narrative than you would see from a shopkeeper.
Mars is embracing temporary re-naming os Snickers like plenty of other food companies to give shoppers an additional reason to purchase. A Snickers bar labelled as a chocolate bar called Absurd turns the Snickers into a fun gift for someone, thereby expanding the reach of their product.
This is a smart marketing move, not trail-blazing, but certainly smart. Retailers have the promotional product at the counter for impulse purchase.
In our own patch, we have seen Smiggle, Typo and others follow a similar model of getting people to buy more of an item than they would by focussing on product design over function.
The more reasons there can be to purchase an item the better. Emotional reasons are the best as they are more likely to drive impulse purchases.
Pitching staff favourite cards at the counter is easy and it boosts sales. It is also personal, providing customers with an insight into the cards your team members love. I recommend every card retailer try this.
Here is how we pitch this at one of my stores, at the counter:
The capex is minimal as you can see from the photo. Keeping the pitch simple is important. Let the cards speak for themselves.
I know of one store that started this a year ago and now they keep stock of cards behind the counter to assist fulfilment.
My suggestion is to not manage staff card selection in any way. This ensures you have a broad mix of cards on offer. This is key. Also, have there cards changed weekly as well as the location of each team member in the line-up.
Cards are important in our businesses. They offer excellent margin. We need to leverage every opportunity possible to get people purchasing more cards. On impulse is critical as this is where the card collector, the person who buys a card because they like it rather than to serve a specific near-term need, is good.
At the counter as I write about here, at the exit to the shop and at other high traffic locations – we need to pitch cards to grow our sales and to get more people engaged with the category. This latter point is important as the more people buy and use cards the better for all of us. We can grow engagement by showing off cards people have not entered our shops intending to purchase.
We are running a Christmas in July promotion for three weeks to attract new shoppers through different approach to a regular sale approach. While this is an optional national newsXpress promotion, each store selects its own products for promotion. In our case we have brought in some products to pitch, to bring a genuine Christmas theme to the opportunity.
Running across the front of the store on the lease line, it is attracting shoppers from the mall. People are telling us they like the 10 x $500 cash prizes on offer.
We figured a Christmas in July retail store pitch was better than a Mid Year Sale pitch as plenty of other retailers, especially in shopping malls, are doing this time of the year. So far, a week in, it is working a treat. We are clearing some slow moving lines and moving at good margin items bough in especially for this promotion.
The traffic boost we are already seeing also plays well for other parts of the business as people drawn by the promotion do shop the shop to see what else we sell. It is a thrill to see this.
In addition to the in-store pitch with posters and displays, we are promoting Christmas in July on social media. This is being done with collateral that matches the in-store collateral. There are also price tickets and other collateral that leverage a single consistent message re the 10 x $500 cash prizes on offer nationally. Here is the main A1 double sided collateral we are using:
By running this as Christmas in July we leverage a growing mini-season in Australia and do so in a way the we can build on over the years if we wish – through a structured approach that does lend itself to consistent execution in-store.
Filling these months between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day with traffic-driving events is important to smoothing traffic and revenue flow in newsagency business. While peaks from seasons and terrific, the troughs can be challenging. It is our job as retailers to fill the troughs with businesses. That is what I am on about here.
Small seasons matter. Today is the day to feature all things pineapple, because we need to attract people for more than the major seasons for which we are known.
There are around 20,000 searched for the term pineapple in Australia every month.many more for phrases with the word.
Pineapple gifts, cards, homewares and novelty items and more are popular. A day like today is an opportunity to shine a light and to make your business attractive beyond the everyday. This type of activity is vital for a transforming newsagency business, it is vital for attracting shoppers who might otherwise not shop with you.
These months between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can be challenging in retail businesses that rely on seasons. Here are some easy and cheap to implement ideas for promoting retail in these cold months:
Run a sunshine themed art competition. Get people drawing bright pictures and sharing photos of sunshine. Create a wall of brightness for people to see and embrace.
Cook a tasty winter slow cooker dish and invite people to taste it. The small will make the shop more appealing and, hopefully, help you sell the book the recipe is from.
Run a SHARE THE WARMTH PROMOTION where you encourage customers to send a card to a friend, loved-one or a family member just because … to share warmth with them. Warm a heart this winter.
Contact any local quilting, knitting and sewing clubs, clubs that engage in winter-themed crafts – invite them to do a craft display. If you execute this well they will tell their friends who will come in and check out what’s on show. Offer some hospitality for their engagement.
Call your discount voucher coupons (on the bottom of your receipts) WINTER WARMER CASH – save money with $$$ savings off your next purchase. Thank you for shopping with us.
Run a HIBERNATION SALE – themed for winter. Offer products your customers can hibernate with at a discount. It doesn’t have to be much. This sale is more about getting them to look at items you have that they would not usually buy.
Contact local businesses and offer FREE DELIVERY for all stationery orders for the next two months to introduce them to your competitive range of stationery. Promote it as a SAME DAY DELIVERY SERVICE.
Give team members WINTER THANK YOU COUPONS. These could be, say, 10% off. Each staff member could give away a set number each day to someone they help on the shop floor to spend above a pre set trigger point. The goal here is to get your team engaging with shoppers and rewarding shoppers who respond by buying more.
None of this is brain surgery or all that innovative. Some of the ideas have been pitched here before at different times. My point is that right now, in the middle of Winter, we need to act to drive traffic, to make our shops warmer and more appealing … to get our communities talking about us.
Embrace Winter as something to celebrate. Give shoppers near your business a reason to visit.
I love these two displays in two of my stores leveraging the royal wedding opportunity. They are attracting new traffic and demonstrating the relevance of each business today. They are fun too. Plus, they pitch products people will purchase on impulse.
Magazines are placed adjacent, to maximise the opportunity. The interest in the wedding is extraordinary. It appeals to royal lovers and republic supporters in different ways. This is why the range of products on offer is so diverse.
The pitches you can see reflect how we can leverage major public events to broaden the appeal of our businesses beyond what has been usual traffic for us. The more people think of us for these unique occasions the broader the appeal of our businesses.
