newsagent software

There have been considerable advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools newsagents now have access to through their Tower Systems newsagency software, tools better and nimbler than what some big retailers have.

I mention this today as there is plenty of noise about AI with only few software companies actually delivering. I am grateful to note that Tower Systems has been delivering AI tools for newsagents since 2022.

AI innovations are engineered to drive operational efficiency and enhance sales revenue for retailers, like newsagents.

1. Optimised product listings: AI-generated, SEO-friendly product descriptions, enhancing online visibility and driving consumer demand.
2. Strategic content marketing: Streamlined creation of engaging blog content, amplifying product awareness and customer engagement.
3. Data-informed pricing decisions: AI-powered price comparison tools, enabling retailers to maintain competitive pricing strategies.
4. Efficient inventory management: AI-driven stock forecasting, minimising stockouts and maximising sales potential.
5. Operational streamlining: Reduction of administrative overhead, allowing retailers to focus on sales and customer service.

Tower Systems’ AI-enhanced POS software empowers retailers with tools to excel in today’s rapidly changing retail market and the even more rapidly chaning newsagency market. AI is a terrific way newsagents can keep up, and get ahead.

The strategic advantages  include:

1. Increased product discoverability: Enhanced online product visibility through SEO-optimised content.
2. Improved retailer operational efficiency: Streamlined inventory management and reduced admin costs,.
3. Data-driven sales strategies: AI-enabled price comparison and sales analysis, facilitating informed decision-making and sales growth.
4. Reduced stock depletion: Accurate inventory forecasting, ensuring consistent product availability and maximising sales opportunities.
5. Strengthened retailer partnerships: Provision of advanced technological solutions, fostering long-term collaborative relationships.

Key AI features Tower Systems delivers today for retailer performance:

1. AI product name and description generation (SEO Optimised)
2. AI blog post creation and publishing
3. AI price comparison
4. AI stock out reduction
5. AI dead stock reduction.

By equipping newsagents with these sophisticated tools, Tower Systems is committed to nurturing success.

I’ve been to the National Retail Federation conference in New York and the UK Spring Fair in Birmingham this year and have seen first-hand what many other POS companies are offering and am confident that what Tower Systems supports its retail partners with a suite of best-practice tools.

Smart and engaged retailers who will weather rough waters. They are the retailers Tower Systems is focussed on helping to thrive.

Call 1300 662 957 (0800 444 367 – NZ) or email sales@towersystems.com.au for more information or to arrange your own free demonstration.

Footnote: now is this all sounds a bit too like science fiction or too hard to grasp, the implementations within the Tower software for Ai are accessible, meaning anyone can use them with confidence and safety.

Join us and a room full of small business retailers as we demonstrate the latest AI integrations in our POS software for newsagents and others and take question from retailers.

Open to any small business retailer, this session recorded on February 20, 2025 is another example of the transparent and accessible customer service from Tower Systems. We regularly host sessions like this.

While use of AI in business remains relatively new, at Tower Systems we are several years in offering time-saving AI integrations for our small business retailer community. Plenty of newsagents have been using AI tools in the software since mid 2022.

The new functionality about to be released to Tower Systems customers opens new opportunities for retailers, helping them do more, sooner. Sessions like the one in the video show how we bring our customers along for these innovations. The demonstrations are real, and relatable as the customer questions and feedback demonstrate.

In the session I host we discuss different AI integrations as well as how retailers can make use of these the AI tools in our POS software.

Beyond simply showcasing features, this session fosters a collaborative environment where retailers can share their unique challenges and explore tailored AI solutions.

We understand that each specialty retail channel we serve has distinct needs, and our goal is to empower retailers with the tools and knowledge to leverage AI for their specific business goals. Whether it’s optimising inventory management for seasonal fluctuations in garden centres or easily importing invoices from suppliers or writing content to promote new products on a blog, we are committed to demonstrating the practical applications of AI that directly translate to increased efficiency and profitability.

I am grateful to everyone who attended live and who will watch this video. Engagement on these types of advances is vital as we evolve our software to serve the needs of independent small business retailers in Australia, New Zealand and nearby.

The advances shared in the video reflect major advances in the AI space for newsagents, in the software. Many newsagents have participated in testing the latest results. And some are already testing the next wave due for release in a couple of months.

There is plenty of noise about AI. I am grateful to be associated with a software company that is going beyond the noise and delivering.

If you can’t make the Reed Gift Fair in Sydney this month, here’s a short video with our Tower Systems POS software pitch.

Join Tim, Justin and me while we talk about some of the highlights we will share and show at the Reed Gift Fair in Sydney. hear about some innovation about to be released in the Tower Systems newsagency POS software and on show at the Gift Fair.

In mid 2022 Tower Systems released the first AI tools for newsagents in newsagency software. They have continued to be enhanced thanks to ChatGPT and Google Gemini integrations. Here’s a video I made with a couple of Tower colleagues two days ago in which we demonstrate more AI advances about to be released in the Tower newsagency POS software.

Today, plenty of newsagents are using the AI tools in the Tower software to same time and make financially rewarding decisions.

There is a lot of noise being published about AI. As this video shows, I prefer actions.

Back in the day it was the ability of newsagency software to manage magazines, handle customer account books, manage newspaper home delivery, take care of cutaways and link to The Lott. While those things remain useful and important, tech advances have made other facilities more interesting.

In your newsagency software you likely have facilities you can leverage to offer a point of difference. Whereas decades ago, cutaways facilities were essential and in use in almost all newsagencies, today their use is much less.

In the competitive world of retail,  offering a differentiating customer service experience is crucial for success. Smart newsagency software with putaways facilities can be your secret weapon in this battle.

Putaways allow newsagents to set aside specific stock for individual customers. This could be anything from the latest copy of their favourite magazine to a particular brand of cigarettes they only buy from you.

A customer registers for a product to put away, put aside, kept for them. When the product arrives, a label with the customer details is printed and placed on the product. The product is put aside in a safe place. The customer can be notified by email or text.

Putaways offer a range of benefits that contribute to an exceptional customer service experience:

• Convenience: Customers know their favourite items will always be waiting for them, saving them time and frustration.
• Loyalty: This personalised touch shows customers you value their business and encourages them to keep coming back.
• Increased Sales: By highlighting upcoming releases or special orders, putaways can prompt customers to purchase additional items.
• Reduced Shrinkage: Knowing exactly how much stock is allocated for putaways helps with stock control and minimises shrinkage.

While putaways are a powerful tool, managing them manually as newsagents did in the 1970s and before is time-consuming and error-prone. This is where smart newsagency software comes in. Newsagency software:

• Electronically record customer preferences: Store customer information as to items they would like put aside.
• Set up automatic putaways: Automate the process of reserving stock for specific customers, saving you valuable time.
• Generate notifications: Alert customers when their put aside items are ready for collection, further enhancing the customer experience.

I mention it today as there are opportunities outside the traditional use of putaways – magazines, newspapers and artworks – where newsagents can use this part of the software they have to satisfy customers buying additional releases or issues of something that has a life beyond a single release. The software solution offers structure and consistency that other retailers in their software would be challenged to match.

Of course, I have a vested interest in that I own Tower Systems, the newsagency software company that I am grateful serves now more than 1,850 newsagents with newsagency software in Australia.

Before streaming services launched, the TV networks decided when we could watch something.

Before podcasts, radio stations decided when we could listen to something.

Before the internet, newspaper publishers decided when we could read news stories.

People love being able to watch, listen and read when they want. They love not having to consume to a time schedule set by a business.

Choice is important.

Appointment retail is retail where you can only shop when the owner decides.

If the shop does not have a website, you can only shop when the doors are open, you miss selling to people who prefer to choose when they do this.

In this video I share some thoughts about appointment retail and provide context for its relevance today.

I first shared the video around a week back. I am re-upping it today with additional context.

Appointment retail matters to newsagents since our channel is one of the slowest to adopt online. This sees many newsagents missing sales. I know because I have websites that have sold things to be delivered a few streets away from newsagents with the same products.

People want to shop when they want to shop and while your shop may feel busy, if you are not online you have no idea what you are missing.

There are other benefits of online:

• You are more likely to know exactly what the shopper is looking for.
• You can easily reach out to past shoppers based on what they purchased.
• You have an alternative pricing outlet.
• You can more easily win sales from a browser.
• Sales are not limited to shop floor manpower.

What has happened with consuming entertainment is happening in retail.

If you say there are not enough shoppers in town, online could be helpful.

If you say this or that won’t sell here, you’re restricting your shopper reach.

If your business o=is not making what it needs for the rent or labour costs, being online can spread the load of carrying those costs.

If people around you are shopping online, which they are, being online can balance that.

Appointment retail is about you being where and when shoppers may purchase what you sell, without deciding when they can do this. It is about you being more flexible, available and ready.

My goal with this short video about appointment retail was to provide a context that gets people thinking about being online. What you do in your business that is up to you.

I’m the owner of newsagency software company Tower Systems and back in 1996 I bought a newsagency business in Melbourne to gain first-hand experience running a newsagency. We think that has played a key role in our software being used in more newsagencies in Australia than all other software companies combined.

We still own and run newsagency businesses today. This video, shot Jan 13, 2024, features magazines at our newsXpress Malvern shop. It’s a magazine specialist business.

Magazines require unique management tools in software and our Tower Systems newsagency software has those. In addition to linking with magazine distributors, our newsagency management software plays a key role in helping newsagents to transition their businesses to be less reliant on print products.

Using our software, newsagency can also easily sell online through our Shopping, Big Commerce, WooCommerce and Magento integrations. Plus, we like to 3 awesome roster tools and a ton of payments platforms including Tyro, Linkly Cloud and Linkly. Oh, and we link direct to Xero, of course.

Owning and running a newsagency gives is a place where we can play with our software, experiment, innovate. It is part of our research and development experience as we test to see what is possible for newsagency businesses and other retailers. With AI and software more broadly playing a bigger role in evolving retail, being a software company with our own shops is an advantage we are grateful to have.

Newsagents benefit from the Tower Systems newsagency software in plenty of ways, including:

1. Exclusive smart greeting card reporting Embedded in our software is category / segment level reporting that newsagents are using to grow card sales 25% and more. That’s money in the bank.
2. You can bank on loyalty. Our fresh and successful approach to loyalty can help you drive a deeper basket and bring people back sooner.
3. Safe decisions make for a better P&L. From data feeds from suppliers through to Xero, we help you nurture data for the safe decisions.
4. Not every shopper will walk past your door. A seamless connection between your software and a beautiful website can help you sell to people you will never meet. We develop websites for newsagents.
5. Easily accessed personal service. A key reason 4 times more newsagents have chosen Tower than any other software is customer service. We are here for you, with you, every day.
6. Current software. Current technology. Fresh, current design.

Our newsagency software also helps newsagents run businesses that rely less on revenue from lottery product sales, which matters since they are transition more to a direct to consumer model online.

I am grateful for the trust newsagents show in Tower Systems and that this has helped the company to continue to grow and serve newsagents, and to help them navigate change.

Here is an update to my 2022 post on this topic.

Never pay an outside party to do your stocktake and never do a stocktake outside of your POS software. Outside stocktakers cost more than it would be for you to do it yourself.

The most accurate stocktake result for any retail business is doing it yourself, using your POS software.

Actually, if you properly use your POS software, it’s unlikely you will need to do a full stocktake on or around June 30. But in case you do …

This time last year, I got together with one of the stocktake experts at Tower Systems to discuss this and answer common stocktake questions we are asked.

Again …

• Don’t use an external stocktaker.
• Do your stocktake yourself.
• Use your POS software to record, live, m the stock count.

This is the best approach for maintaining accurate stock on hand data and for valuing stock prior to a change of hands of the business.

With 1,750 newsagencies in the Tower Systems newsagency software community, it’s the industry standard software solution. While, for sure, there are a couple of other software programs being used in newsagencies, the scale of the Tower newsagent community sets it apart. I an grateful to newsagents for their trust and support and proud to be part of the channel as a supplier, and as a newsagent.

Here’s a recent demonstration of this $185.00 a month software for newsagents:

And here’s another from a few weeks prior to that video:

And here’s a video promoting newsagents to the broader Aussie community:

And here is another video I made and promoted on YouTube to pitch the Aussie newsagency channel:

Plenty of Aussie newsagencies are thriving and I am grateful that my newsagency software company plays a role in that.

Here’s what the $185 a month provides:

• Access to the latest newsagency software.
• Onboarding support.
• Help desk support.
• Unlimited registers. No extra cost.
• Integrated accounting link.
• Integrated e-commerce links.
• Integrated payments.
• Loyalty programs.
• Advanced reporting.
• Customer marketing.
• Visual analytics dashboard.
• Special customer orders.
• Serial numbers.
• Sell by fractions, sell by weight.
• Integrated LayBys.
• Customer gift vouchers.
• Customised onboarding.
• 24/7 support.

From a newsagency operation specific perspective, though, this newsagency POS software handles to best practice industry standards for areas such as magazine management, magazine returns, newspaper subscriptions, newspaper home delivery, magazine putaways, supplier electronic invoices, customer special orders, Epay integration for selling phone vouchers and other electronic vouchers.

Folks who run traditional newsagencies love the software because it handles the traditional requirements well. Folks who run newsagencies that are different, outside what is usual love the software, too, because of how it serves outside what has been traditional for newsagency businesses.

Tower Systems is a unique newsagency software company in that it owns and runs newsagency businesses. The company bought its first newsagency in February 1996. It has owned newsagencies ever since – using its newsagency software, walking in the shoes of customers, providing all staff with a live testing space and learning more about the software / retail business interface in a way that is valuable for all Tower Systems customers.

Beyond the newsagency software itself, Tower Systems helps newsagents with marketing advice, theft mitigation advice and a range of other management level supports and assistances. We believe in this quintessential Australian retail channel and appreciate opportunities to genuinely help newsagents run better and more successful businesses.

Here’s a 40 minute demonstration of POS software for newsagents from my newsagency software company, Tower Systems. No login ia required, no email or other details are collected. It’s available for anyone to see at YouTube. Scroll down to find out who I am sharing this.

While the newsagency software continues to evolve, this demo from 7 months provides an insight to specialty facilities in this software.

I’m sharing it for a few reasons: of course, to pitch my newsagency software company, to offer an easy way for newsagents to see what newsagency software can do and to underscore how much business has changed. This video, raw as it is, is a key reason for a surge in newsagents installing the software in 2022. Back in the day we would demonstrate in-store, one-on-one. Now, most sales flow from videos like this.

Just as selling software has changed, so has retail. How people shop and when they shop.

This software offers newsagents a range of ways to connect with the evolving shopping experience. As the software more newsagents use than any other, the development investment in the Tower software is more resourced.

In terms of how people shop and when they shop, this software links direct to Shopify, Magento and Woo Commerce. It also links to all the newsXpress national group websites for an easy and fast path to selling online.

At my newsagency software company, Tower Systems, we are keen to hire someone who knows and has used our Retailer POS software for an additional role on our help desk. This is a technical role. It would suit someone looking to work in a software company, someone keen to learn and keen to help others learn POS software technology.

It’s the second role we have added to the help desk this year.

We need someone who can manage themselves in that almost all of our help desk team members now work from home. Location is not all that important given this.

If you know of someone who could be right for the role, please encourage them to reach out to me at: mark@towersystems.com.au.

When asked if there was cloud based newsagency software available in Australia at a recent supplier run training event, I have been told that the national supplier representative said that there was no cloud based newsagency software currently.

That’s untrue. The Tower Systems newsagency software runs in the cloud has has been available for cloud access for many years.

Plenty of newsagents access it through the cloud today.

It continues to supply me that some supplier representatives make statements about topics on which they have no facts.

To try and shore up relevance, XchangeIT has inserted itself as middleware in a tech relationship between TheLott and newsagency POS software. As announced Friday afternoon, this is now available.

While it’s clunky, because of requirements driven by those outside of newsagency software businesses, it is better than nothing.

It will be interesting to see the uptake. It will also be interesting to see if XchangeIT provide the level of support newsagents will want / need for this transactional facility.

My own newsagency software company has been involved from the outset. The approach is not what we would recommend. But, as they say, it is what it is.

At my newsagency software company, Tower Systems, we are keen to hire someone who knows and has used our Retailer POS software for a new role on our help desk. This is a technical role. It would suit someone looking to work in a software company, someone keen to learn and keen to help others learn POS software technology.

The help desk is busy and the support call variety diverse. Retail experience is beneficial. Good knowledge of our Retailer POS software would also be helpful as a base on which we can train more on the intricacies of the software.

We need someone who can manage themselves in that almost all of our help desk team members now work from home. Location is not all that important given this.

If you know of someone who could be right for the role, please encourage them to reach out to me at: mark@towersystems.com.au

We will be advertising publicly in the next few days. If an ideal candidate from within our community applies before we do this, we may not advertise.

A Windows update pushed by Microsoft earlier this week is causing computers run by plenty of newsagent to crash. This is not a newsagency software problem. It is a Microsoft caused problem. If you are experiencing a computer shutting down unexpectedly it is likely to be this problem.

Here is how to back the Microsoft Windows update out of your computer.

1. Click on Start.
2. Type RUN.
3. A menu will appear that will include a RUN app.
4. Click on RUN.
5. Type exactly this:   wusa /uninstall /kb:5000802
6. Press enter.
7. The windows update will uninstall.
8. You will then need to re-start the computer.
9. Do this on every computer that has the Windows update installed.

Once the uninstall is finished you will need to restart the computer.

My advice is do this before calling anyone for support as their advice will be to do what is on the above list first.