Challenges can stop us or they can motivate to tunnel through, climb over, walk around or somehow overcome. I was inspired by the table out the front of a bookshop I visited yesterday. They are on a steep hill but wanted a table of books out the front of their shop. They made it work.
They overcame the challenge and made it work.
More and more retailers, usually small business or independent retailers, are taking the approach of a curator in selecting items they stock and the in-store placement of these items.
Being a curator is a step beyond being a retailer as you choose items for how they make people feel, and sometimes this is consideration ahead of thinking about sales revenue from the item itself.
In making conscious decisions to stock and display in order to impact the mood and outlook of our customers, we can attract new traffic and drive engagement in-store.
This HAPPINESS PLANNER is a good example. Who doesn’t want to plan for happiness?
There are some excellent suppliers who play well in this space, who have on-trend items we can use to make pitches similar to this one. Retailers need to find their own, with ranges that speak to them. This is what being a curator is about.
In my shops we do it regularly in-store as well and on social media. Customers love it. we love it because of the outlook it projects.
It has been hard for Foxtel’s 2.2 million subscribers to miss the newsXpress TV commercial running over the last week. Funded by newsXpress and supported with a strong social media campaign as well as in-store marketing, the TV campaign has been successful at driving net new traffic.
Basket data indicate valuable engagement beyond the basic buy 2 get 1 free pitch. Plenty are buying more of the promoted Beanie Boo product. Plenty are buying other products while in-store.
Landing new shoppers in-store is tough work. newsXpress is doing this at a national level for its 243 retail locations and doing it through a product that historically was a toy shop and national retailer product. The campaign is part of a long-term and integrated strategy that has recast the focus of newsXpress to new traffic areas while not disrespecting traditional newsagency shopper traffic.
To those who say the buy 2 get 1 free deal is nothing special – you’re entitled to your view. This is the second year running this promotion for a reason.
To those who may want to mock Beanie Boos, a country town newsagency with a population of 5,000 selling $23,000 in Boos in a year and achieving the best return on floorspace of all products in-store from Beanie Boos is one example of many success stories. In the city and country, Beanie Boo and associated exclusive products are an excellent new new traffic driver product.
To those who want to criticise newsXpress for any reason, that is your right. However, criticise with facts. The facts here are, this campaign is a terrific commercial and new traffic success.
To those who may say not all newsXpress members participated, yes, that is true. I think those who chose to not participate are dills.
To the other marketing groups who say I should not write about newsXpress here, remember, there is an open invitation for you to share your success stories here.
Note: I am a Director of newsXpress.
What we can sell in our businesses, no matter whether we identify as a newsagency or a business that has transitioned from much of the tradition of that shingle, is limited only by our ability and imagination.
One newsagent had a single sale worth $2,370 Monday morning this week.
The same customer has since spent another $2,500 with the business.
The sales success is a testament to the business owners and their actions stepping outside hat has been usual for the channel, ensuring the business has the right products to facilitate sales this size and backing the products with the right in-store and out of store pitches to drive success.
This success on Monday is not isolated for this business. While the quantum a single sale is somewhat rare, single sales at above $1,000 are not.
This business is constructed for such success.
Buying, merchandise rising, marketing and shop floor engagement are all structured to achieve sales like this.
My experience is any newsagent has the capacity to achieve success like this.
To those who don’t believe the story – that’s okay, I don’t need you to believe it.
To those who think they can; pt achieve this – I say believe in yourself, team with those who can support you to achieve there.
To those who want to talk this down – go somewhere else to make people feel down like you.
This is a good story, to celebrate. A business identifying as a newsagency did this. It shows what is possible and for that we should celebrate.
I know of six newsagents who are each advanced in opening additional retail locations, newsagency locations, or their version of newsagency locations at least.
I mention this today as an indication of six different individuals who have food knowledge of our channel and who are confident enough in key parts of the channel and their own business acumen to invest in opening additional locations.
Kudos to them.
This is a good story. It reflects a confidence that has always been there but may not have been as obvious.
Sure, there are businesses under duress and some closing. But here we have new business opening because the newsagents see growth opportunities. These are moves to celebrate as they contradict the narrative of some.
In each case the newsagent has embraces a shop space opportunity made available to them, in true entrepreneurial spirit. Starting from scratch, with a clean slate – the best type of slate of all.
I am interested in the different questions they ask of themselves. For example, if I am going to have magazines, how many different titles do I need? Or, if I am going to have magazines does it really matter if I am only a sub agent?
There are many more questions than these. This is not the space to document them.
I know from my own experience earlier this year that opening a new business is a wonderful experience in terms of the decisions you can make, because of the clean slate, especially if the business does not have any agency requirements such as lotteries. This is where there is real flexibility, starting afresh without any supplier demands. It puts you 100% in control as the retailer rather than as an agent.
From product location to shop look and feel to fitout, you can create something fresh when you have a business with fewer restrictions than the last generation of newsagencies had when they were created. This is even more true if the business is outside a major shopping centre where landlords make some tough demands.
But back to the six who are expanding their businesses. Good on them and well done. This is good news for our channel and good news for the local communities. I am excited to see how far they evolve their own models.
The April – June quarter was tough for core products sold through the newsagency channel. In addition to the continuing decline in print media sales, this quarter’s benchmark results reveal a troubling downturn in lottery revenue as well as card revenue.
Here are the headline numbers by key product category:
These are not good headline numbers. The bottom is falling out of the historic core of the newsagency channel. This will not be news to many as it continues a trend we have seen in this benchmark study for several years.
The above percentages reflect the overall performance of the 181 newsagency businesses in this benchmark study. It includes stores from a range of banner groups as well as independents. There are large businesses and small. Some are in shopping centres while others are on then high street. The cross-section is broad.
What is concerning is the pace of decline, especially with magazines as the decline had slowed recently. Looking more closely at the data, the decline is in the volume categories. Fringe categories such as special interest titles are doing well. Indeed, some segments show terrific growth.
Newsagents need to manage the overhead cost of newspapers and magazines. Labour, space and capital investment needs to be kept in line with the gross profit contribution of these categories. Busy work relating to newspapers and magazines should be eliminated.
The decline in greeting card revenue is a surprise. The reported percentage of decline, 4%, does not read well. However, like all the above data points, it is an average from the entire data pool. There are stores experiencing decline above 20% with others reporting growth above 20%. There is a clear correlation between stores with strong gift sales and card performance – in this case card revenue is stronger.
GOOD NEWS.
The good news is the performance of businesses playing outside the traditional space. For example, the newsagency with $25,000 in toy revenue in the quarter, reflecting growth of 18% or the newsagency with $45,000 in gift revenue and year on year growth of 22% of the newsagency with card revenue of $47,000 and year on year growth of 22%.
There are many good news stories in the latest study results. However, the good news will be overshadowed by the performance of the majority. It is challenging, some days, to know what to do or say to cut through with newsagents who are not engaged.
Too many newsagents think growth will come from categories close to what they have done historically. For example, too many get into cheap social stationery thinking that is competitive with Kikki.K or Typo.
My experience is the best growth comes from turning away from traditional lines and traditional suppliers and going with products and price points you would never have considered for a newsagency business. I see this approach working well in the benchmark results in businesses of different sizes and in different situations.
OVERALL PERFORMANCE DATA.
It is in the overall business gross profit numbers where the differences in businesses can be seen. 62% sit in the traditional newsagency GP performance band of 28% – 30%. 7% sit below 28%. 20% sit in the GP band of 30% and 35%. 7% sit between 35% and 40%. The rest, 4%, have a GP of more than 40%.
GP is a function of what you stock and the type of shoppers you attract to the business. Buying is where it starts.
WHAT IS DRIVING THE DECLINES?
Close to 80% of the businesses in the benchmark reported a decline in traffic with the average decline set at 5%. However, just over half reported a decline in revenue. This is because plenty are selling higher priced items, usually gifts. This softens the blow of the decline in legacy products.
I think the traffic decline is being driven by a decline in interest in legacy products on which traditional newsagency businesses have relied. I have said for years it is crucial newsagents have a strategy to drive net new traffic. Relying on legacy product to sell new products is not a plan. You need to source new products and to use these to attract people to your business who would otherwise not have shopped with you.
HOW TO RESPOND TO TRAFFIC DECLINES?
Any newsagency business can be successful, regardless of location and situation. This is truer today than at any time in the past thanks to what we can see being achieved online – not only in newsagency businesses but through other retail channels.
The key to success is to not run the business as a newsagency. That’s is, to not obsess about legacy products. Focus on new traffic products. Focus on price points you would usually say would never work in your business. Buy products you think will never work. Be radical and through discover what is possible in your business.
I urge you to ask yourself daily, what have I done today to reach a new shopper, someone who does not know we exist? This is what successful businesses in the benchmark study are doing and doing well.
DOES THE NEWSAGENCY CHANNEL HAVE A FUTURE?
I ask this every quarter. My answer remains – Yes! Absolutely. If you are prepared to shrug off what has been traditional for a newsagency business, stop hoarding, embrace change and embrace social media – you can have a bright future. The transformation from traditional to the new world must be urgent and dramatic.
AGENCY IS OVER.
My opinion remains – there is no upside in any agency parts of the business. People saying they are proud to be called a newsagent are entitled to their view. History will show that era is behind us.
OPTIMISTIC.
I am optimistic for my own newsagency businesses and for the businesses of many newsagents. Indeed, I have opened a new outlet the last few months. It does not look or feel like a newsagency. The numbers are terrific.
WHY I DO THIS STUDY
My interest in the study is as a newsagent and as a supplier to the channel through Tower Systems and through newsXpress. I want the channel to grow for selfish reasons and because it has been my life since 1981. I am invested.
BENCHMARK GOALS.
I am often asked for benchmark goals newsagents ought to aim for. Here are some benchmarks I have developed in my work with newsXpress and through Tower Systems:
Mark Fletcher.
Email: mark@towersystems.com.au Website: www.towersystems.com.au Blog: www.newsagencyblog.com.au
M | 0418 321 338
Footnote: I founded Tower Systems in 1981. That company now serves in excess of 1,750 newsagents as customers with its newsagency software. In 2005, I joined newsXpress. That newsagency marketing group now serves 243 retail businesses with a traffic and revenue growth strategy.
I launched discount vouchers in my newsagency in February 2013. back then, it was the first time anything like this had been tried in the channel. I still use discount vouchers today as they are a profitable part of the retail mix in the business, encouraging shopper loyalty.
Recently, a newsagent talked publicly abut an experience with discount vouchers. I share it here in their words:
Yesterday a customer called and paid for 2 Perfect Petzzz over the phone. Came in today to see if she can pick them up.
I gave her the $18 discount voucher for the 2 Perfect Petzzz, she was delighted and bought 2 Ravensburger and 2 angel flames because of the discount voucher. Of course she got another discount voucher of $8.09 for that, and decided to use the voucher for Harry Potter beanies
😀. Upon receiving another discount voucher of $5.84, she smiled at me and said “I think I better get out of here
Not only do discount vouchers change shopper behaviour, they also alter business owner and staff behaviour. I see this time and again in comments from retailers to me about their voucher experiences. I love the stories of happiness about what is being achieved through such a simple customer loyalty offer.
People understand $$$ moire than they understand points.
With the business owner having complete control over the levers and other business management touch points, it is easy to ensure the vouchers are profitable, easy to have the right encouragements to guide shopper behaviour to serve the business and to reward the shopper at the same time.
I have seen newsagents implement discount vouchers and become more engaged with and happy about their business as a result.
This story above is one example of a retailer who was skeptical who is now loving the outcomes being achieved. It also shows how a an easy and cheap to implement marketing strategy can improve the business. The lead time from deciding to implement to being live is minutes with no capex.
Footnote: The discount voucher facility to which I refer here is from Tower Systems, a software company I own. No other software company in the newsagency channel has the discount voucher facility that Tower has. While anyone can use the term discount vouchers, I know from experience that no two software products are the same in this area. It is actually an interesting comparison point.
How people use websites for retail businesses has changed, not overnight, but gradually over time.
If you have a website created more than three years ago, which has not been structurally changed or updated since it is probably not helping your business.
Even if a website is there merely as an online business care, it needs to been certain criteria today to be found and of use to shoppers.
Here are some useful ‘rules’ I offer as guidance for any retailer with (or planning) a business website:
These new ‘rules’ are a start. The represent the most significant changes from websites that small business retailers, including newsagents, were doing just a few years ago.
I think a website for a retail business is best approached as an opportunity for the business to sell to people the business would otherwise not reach. This thinking helps you focus on the site and its purpose as being different, broader than the website. It also helps you learn more about borderless retail.
How people shop, when and where they shop and why they shop has fundamentally changed in recent years. A good website can help any retail business, including there Aussie newsagency, to reach new customers and through this drive greater commercial efficiency from the physical retail business.
My thoughts here are another reason, of many reasons, why I am optimistic for businesses in the newsagency channel.
Footnote: I have written this post because I noticed some newsagents sill have the website created years ago trough GNS or NewWeb. Those sites from years ago serve no purpose today other than to remind people of yesteryear.
Two years ago newsXpress launched unicorn promotion. It was a success. Last year, it expanded the promotion, launching Unicorn Season. Thanks to the support of a group of different suppliers, terrific in-store displays and collateral and online marketing, it was a hit.
This year, on July 1, newsXpress launched Magical / Unicorn season – a broader season build around the fun, magic and mystery of unicorns.
This now established season has broad demographic appeal. It is also easy to engage with in-store as well as online. Plus, it is a leave-behind opportunity, with unicorn and related products a key segment offer inn the gift department.
Attracting shoppers through a campaign that is fresh and banner group specific is a good move because there is less competition in this same space. I think that is a factor in the success for this season.
While the usual seasons remain important, it is these new seasons that can be more valuable at driving incremental traffic and purchases.
Here are a few photos of in-store execution from different newsXpress businesses.
There are plenty more stores engaged than these four. The traffic and revenue success tells us this type of blue ocean promotion is well worthwhile.
The supplier offer is broad with ten different suppliers offering products for this season.
The season is worthwhile because not recasts how people see each business and what they expect they cn purchase there.
While I see other retailers, including some newsagents, with unicorn products, none has embraced it as a season with in-store support through collateral, events and more.
As our channel continues to evolve through falling traffic for newspapers, magazines, stationery and lottery products thanks to online and other factors, we must create other opportunities for shoppers to visit our shops. This is where unicorn season, and similar fresh and unique seasons, play well for us. The new shoppers they attract can become shoppers beyond the season. Existing shoppers, too, as I have noted, spend up thanks to a great display.
This season is one example of how we can grow our businesses in the face to the doom and gloom of some. It is not too late.
Footnotes:
This display of Wiggles products has worked very well for us. We leveraged the brand-focussed in-store as well as online. The experience reinforced the value of the Wiggles brand, still. It also reinforced the value of thoughtful sourcing from a range of suppliers to tell a deep story for a licence. This display has products from five suppliers.
For me, this display demonstrates a difference between a retailer and an agent. An agent would stock what is presented to them whereas a retailer works to bring in products to tell a deeper story. This extra work pays off though more items purchased in single transactions and through visits from new shoppers.
The display also reflects a point of difference over majors in that the majors with Wiggles product would not have this diverse range. While they have more inventory, it is more of the same, usually from one supplier.
With licences we have to research suppliers to achieve the diversity shown in the photo and to achieve for the business the type of outcome I am writing about here.
This display is one example of how a newsagency of the future needs to operate – playing against expectation, with a comprehensive display supporting a single brand, done in a way that is interesting, entertaining and competitive. It reflects optimism for a transitioned newsagency business that is trading away from that shingle.
Comparing the performance of the newsagency for May 2017 with May 2016 shows a good result for magazines. While overall unit sales declined 5%, weeklies only declined 1% – and they account for 44.35% of all our magazine sales.
I say he 5% decline is good as this is happening in a period when many are experiencing double digit and more decline in unit sales.
In our situation the categories of concern are sports, computers and music. For us, these categories are in dangerous decline.
Craft & hobbies and home & lifestyle are the two terrific growth categories with each achieving 20% year on year growth in unit sales. Both are high value categories in that they are more likely to drive extra value purchases in the business.
I am feeling good about magazine sales in May. They have contributed well to the business and the declines of 2016 have significantly slowed for us.
Regulars here will know I am a big fan of discount vouchers, the smart loyalty facility that gives shoppers to spend in-store immediately. Every day I hear stories of success retailers, including newsagents, have with discount vouchers. Most stories are shared because what happened was unexpected for the retailer.
Here is a story I received yesterday:
Just had a lady spend $75.00 on a gift. She then used her $4.69 voucher to purchase another gift item for $130.00. Kaching!!
The $130.00 purchase was unplanned. The customer found the item because they had $4.69 to spend.
That moment when a customer sees the amount on a voucher, lifts their head and looks back into the body of the shop is gold. It is hard to achieve, getting a shopper completing a purchase to go back in for another purchase. This is why I say it is gold.
I have owned retail shops for more than twenty years. The discount vouchers are the most successful marketing tool I have ever seen or used.
Retailers realise this and that is why they share their stories.
I love hearing them.
Discount vouchers are terrific because they can be better managed and tracked than the old-school loyalty points programs, they have a lower admin overhead and they can be run to have no cost to the business and extraordinary upside.
I am grateful to newsagents for sharing their success stories.
We spent $3.00 on a boosted Facebook post for a range on the newsagency last week. I boosted it for one day only. That night someone new to the business messaged about the promoted products.
A $210 purchase within 24 hours was tangible result of the $3.00 boost.
Better still, this customer is a collector and will be back. We estimate that the full year value will be somewhere between $500.00 and $1,000.00.
This is a customer who has n to shopped with us before.
My points is that a small boosted post on social media can attract new shoppers. The success of such post depends on the products being promoted, the cut through of the promotion and your accessibility when the customer asks questions.
This goes to my point recently about being available online when the shop is closed. In today’s marketplace that is vital.
It is practical small steps like this – a $3.00 boosted post on Facebook – that are far more important than bigger, bolder and more complex marketing and management strategies.
Boosted Facebook posts are low-cost, fast to respond and easy to track. bang for buck they represent the best out of store marketing opportunities for our businesses today.
The starting point, however, is products … having sought after brands collectors love and pitching these using a voice the collectors understand.
$210.00 out of a $3.00 ad spend is terrific news, and it is accessible to every retailer, including those who say facebook is too hard to master.
The March quarter was patchy for retail newsagency performance. While the overall channel performance was flat, plenty peaked and plenty troughed.
It is dangerous to look at the overall and take that as the performance metric for the channel. It is not, as many individual newsagents know.
Here are the headlines from the latest benchmark study:
For this latest study, I have looked at data from 167 newsagencies – large and small, city and country, shopping centre and high street: Newspower, the various versions of Nextra and newsXpress as well as independent.
Overall, Q1 2017 delivered better results than Q3. Here are the overall results:
Some look at these and other data points to see how they compare and are relieved if they are not in the worst group. This is a mistake in my view.
The best way to use the benchmark results is to understand industry trends. For example, if your gifts are not growing by double digits and gift revenue is not more than card revenue then you have a problem. If you are not in toys enough to have a separate department and are not achieving growth in toys then you have a problem.
What does success look like? This is an important question as there are newsagents contemplating there is no upside, nothing worth fighting on for. I disagree. There is plenty of upside, for those prepared to create it for themselves.
I think any newsagency business can be successful, regardless of location and situation. This is more true today than at any time in the past thanks to what we can see being achieved online – not only in newsagency businesses but through other retail channels.
For a glimpse of success, take a look at these data points for one newsagency for which I have seen performance data:
Now, before you dismiss this as being an exception. This business is long established, in a highly competitive situation. It is debt free. What sets it apart is that every decision is made based on data, not gut, not emotion, but data. The business regularly promotes outside the business and in a way that is not common for a newsagency. In-store, this does not look like an average newsagency.
Every year on year comparison report I have looked at has its own story. It reflects not only the challenges of small business retail but also the challenges of product categories, local challenges, owner challenges and more. The comparison data is a narrative for the business.
I urge you to ask yourself daily, what have I done today to reach a new shopper, someone who does not know we exist? This is what successful businesses in the benchmark study are doing and doing well.
DOES THE NEWSAGENCY CHANNEL HAVE A FUTURE?
Yes! Absolutely. If you are prepared to shrug off what has been traditional for a newsagency business, stop hoarding, embrace change and embrace social media – you can have a bright future. The transformation from traditional to the new world has to be urgent and dramatic.
AGENCY IS OVER.
My opinion remains – there is no upside in any agency parts of the business.
OPTIMISTIC.
I am optimistic for my own newsagency businesses and for the businesses of many newsagents. Indeed I have opened a new outlet in the last couple of weeks.
HOW TO USE THESE RESULTS
Look at your own situation. Compare your year on year results with those detailed here. If you are doing worse, act. If you are doing better, celebrate briefly and then get back to it.
There is no time to lose. We are in a period of extraordinary change and challenge on many fronts and the best way to confront change and challenge is to lean in and bring it on.
WHY I DO THIS STUDY
My interest in the study is as a newsagent and as a supplier to the channel through Tower Systems and through newsXpress. I want the channel to grow for selfish reasons and because it has been my life since 1981. I am invested.
BENCHMARK GOALS
I am often asked for benchmark goals newsagents ought to aim for. Here are some benchmarks I have developed in my work with newsXpress and through Tower Systems:
Mark Fletcher.
Email: mark@towersystems.com.au Website: www.towersystems.com.au Blog: www.newsagencyblog.com.au
M | 0418 321 338
I like to look at my business performance in quarters. Besides the convenience there is the dataset itself. Three months of business data is far more valuable for spotting trends than any period less. This is especially true if you are comparing one quarter with an earlier one or the same quarter a year back.
So, I look forward to the end of a quarter to look at business performance.
Data does not lie, not does it have emotion. Data are facts and these facts matter when you are looking at your business.
I look at revenue, GP, unit sales, supplier performance, revenue by space and ROI. These and some other data points provide a good understanding of how things have gone and insights into where you might head in the near intermediary.
The first quarter of 2017 was interesting in that we tried plenty of new things in the shop, confronted an overall traffic decline in the centre and faced several new competitors.
I am grateful for the opportunity to compare performance with what I see in the benchmark dataset for this is a valuable layer of insight over the performance of my my own business I can see that the pace of change has picked up in terms of what we sell, what we can sell and the reasons shoppers visit the business.
I think we will look back in 2017 as the year of greatest change in our channel in decades. I’ll write more about this soon….
We have many products in our retail businesses that can make people happy. Every one of these products is an opportunity to reach new customers and to attract them to our shops.
You only have to look at how people use facebook to understand that people like optimism, that they are drawn to inspiring images and quotes.
We can leverage these in our own business-based social media engagement, and give people what they like and connect the positive emotional response back to our businesses.
Take the image of the duck with this post. The message, Quiet the mind and the soul will squeak, is simple, inspiring, optimistic.
This is not an image or text people would expect to see from a newsagency yet it is perfect for the business I want to pitch as mine.
The photo is perfect to load as is. That is all I need to do as it will do the rest. This is a perfect social media post in my view – because it does play against type, against what people expect from a newsagency business. Plus, it is happy, inspiring, heartwarming.
As I noted earlier, we have many products in our retail businesses that can make people happy. My advice is to find them, shine a light on them, use them to attract people to your business who might otherwise not be attracted to you.
But remember, once there you have to give them an experience that matches the expectation of the social media post. Don’t allow there to be a disconnect as you could lose them forever.
In my benchmark work with newsagents and through other data I see I have developed a list of items that work best with newspapers.
With more than 70% of newspaper purchases single item purchases, leveraging newspaper placement is key to make the most of destination newspaper traffic.
Here are the best items to place with with your top selling newspaper, the items people are most likely to add to their newspaper purchase:
Create the space next to newspapers. I have never seen a newsagency where this cannot be created.
Do not overload the space next to your top selling newspaper. If you clutter the space it will be too busy and people will not see what you want them to see.
Use my suggestions above to get you thinking about your situation. My ideas may not work. Something will. The moment you have success you will be encouraged to try more. Chase that success.
The goal here is to drive shopper visit efficiency from newspapers. Success will only come from active engagement by you in your business. No one else will do this for you.
Many retail newsagencies are traffic and margin poor businesses. Such businesses are high-risk businesses as most low margin products and services are delivering less traffic year on year … high-risk of financial failure.
In addition to low margin products and services experiencing traffic decline year on year, minimal or no retail price movement see a decline in margin in real terms. Further, too often we see the percentage cut by suppliers for selfish reasons, further diluting the value to the retailer.
But it is not all bad news with low margin products and services. If they are generating good traffic, the opportunity is to be proactive in leveraging that traffic. Here is a list of five must-do things to leverage this low value traffic in your business.
My advice is do all five of these things. If you don’t do some or all you are most likely only benefiting from destination business from low-margin high-traffic products and services and there is no upside in that.
For the record, margin poor products and services are those with a GP percentage of less than 50% in my view.
This post shows how to turn a negative into a positive. I hope it helps.
FTYI this advice is an example of one of many types advice newsXpress provides its members.
I was thrilled to see this sign in my local coffee shop on Monday this week. I am often on the phone when there ordering coffee. It works, I don’t disrespect them and they don’t disrespect me.
I think some retailers get too hung up on the mobile pone thing. As long as you can complete the transaction who cares if they are on the phone? Not me, I am happy there are there shopping with me.
What I love about this campaign is that its is positive and inviting. It turns what is often a negative situation in retail into a positive.
Good on the people who are behind it. My cafe owner got the sign from his local Snap Printing outlet so it may be a Snap thing.
Sure it can be frustrating if the conversation on the phone slows the sale. My experience is that it usually does not. The key is to look beyond the default position of being angry or frustrated that a shopper is on the phone. Suck it up, take their cash and appreciate having a customer to service. That’s good pragmatic customer service in my view.
Looking at business performance data as part of the latest newsagency sales benchmark study, I have spent time on the data for one of my own businesses. I shot a video to explain what I saw and describe the growth opportunities I see for newsagents in 2017.
I am exploring some of the themes in this video in new workshops scheduled to start in a couple of weeks: Newsagency of the Future: confronting 2017 and beyond. The first round of the newsagent-only sessions are available:
Access is free. Book online.
Note: while the video is branded newsXpress, the points are relevant to any newsagent.
The December 2016 quarter was dreadful for traditional newsagency businesses with challenging declines impacting all key traffic generating categories.
The headlines, however, from the December quarter, are the extraordinary results achieved by some who shared their data:
These are good stories. There are plenty of them.
So, while the headline numbers below will concern plenty, there is good news to read and good news to create.
For this study, I have looked at data from 171 newsagencies – large and small, city and country, shopping centre and high street and from all Newspower, the various versions of Nextra and newsXpress as well as independent.
Overall, Q4 2016 delivered better results than Q3. Here are the overall results:
Benchmark results by key departments:
Every year on year comparison report I have looked at has its own story. It reflects not only the challenges of small business retail but also the challenges of product categories, local challenges, owner challenges and more. The comparison data is a narrative for the business.
The number of newsagency businesses I see being run as victims of circumstances is concerning for them and for the channel. I am seeing too many traditional newsagencies, still. This has to stop if our channel is to have a future.
The benchmark dataset includes reports from businesses revealing tremendous transformation, reports filled with good news. This good news is not luck or good fortune. No, the good news is a result of business owners acting to pursue this future.
The excuse of our area is down or our street is down does not cut it any more as we have the capacity to easily reach beyond our street or suburb. Thanks to free access to social media and the lower than ever barrier to online sales, newsagents can sell outside their area. The idea of a territory is long gone.
You have to ask yourself daily, what have I done today to reach a new shopper, someone who does not know we exist? This is what successful businesses in the benchmark study are doing and doing well.
It is hard work in retail today and it will get harder. The response has to be practical, it has to come from within the business.
DOES THE NEWSAGENCY CHANNEL HAVE A FUTURE?
While I think the channel as people knew it in the past does not have a future, businesses we identify as newsagencies do have a future. I think engaged marketing groups will drive this as will entrepreneurial newsagents.
The most important change that could immediately help is for magazine publishers to treat newsagents as magazine specialists. They could do this by getting out of supermarkets and elsewhere. This would drive newsagent support in return for the boost in traffic. It would be a win win.
AGENCY IS OVER.
Some years ago there was a hope by some that parcels would save the channel. They have not. They are a fractional service delivering traffic of no value beyond the parcel connection.
My opinion remains – newsagents are better off out of the parcel business just as they are better off out of agency business.
OPTIMISTIC.
I am optimistic for my own newsagency businesses and for the businesses of many newsagents. Thoughtful changes based in business data and implemented with joy can attract new shoppers. The right products can bring people back to the business regularly. New customer bases can be found, valuable customer bases where we rely less on competing with supermarkets and others.
Good retailers can make a bright future.
HOW TO USE THESE RESULTS
Look at your own situation. Compare your year on year results with those detailed here. If you are doing worse, act. If you are doing better, celebrate briefly and then get back to it.
There is no time to lose. We are in a period of extraordinary change and challenge on many fronts and the best way to confront change and challenge is to lean in and bring it on.
The business owners of any newsagency are the single most important influence on their results.
WHY I DO THIS STUDY
My interest in the study is as a newsagent and as a supplier to the channel through Tower Systems and through newsXpress. I want the channel to grow for selfish reasons and because it has been my life since 1981. I am invested.
BENCHMARK GOALS
I am often asked for benchmark goals newsagents ought to aim for. Here are some benchmarks I have developed in my work with newsXpress and through Tower Systems:
Tower Systems serves in excess of 1,750+ newsagents with best practice newsagency software.
Mark Fletcher
M | 0418 321 338
I am grateful for the opportunity to be at the National retail Federation conference in New York this week where they launched RISE Up:
While this is an American program, it speaks to the value of retail in Australia.
The campaign is supported y a number of stories about individuals, like this one:
Telling stories is important in any business but especially in small business retail where our businesses have many stories of local connections and engagements we could share.
I look at the NRF RISE Up campaign as a challenge for us to engage better in our businesses, to tell more of our stories so the broader value of our businesses is understood.
I sat down yesterday to write a post about what 2017 holds in store for Australian newsagents and their businesses and the resolutions we should contemplate. I have decided that would be a waste of time.
Everyone in the channel knows what will happen. But here is a list of what I think will happen in Australia anyway:
The situation will be worse than it need be because too many suppliers ignore the specialist nature of our channel and too many newsagents do not run competitively engaged businesses. These are suppliers who chase mass, thinking that is the answer (when it is not).T hese are the retailers who think opening their door in the morning is the only marketing activity in which they need to engage, the retailers who only buy from traditional suppliers, the retailers who are more comfortable as agents than entrepreneurial retailers, retailers who see the ownership of a business as their pension rather than a career.
The resolutions for 2017 ought be: chase change is if your life depends on it, do less agency revenue and more 50% GP and more revenue. Chase having people asking if they are in a newsagency when they are in your shop.
Challenging their perception of your business ought be mission critical in 2017.
Selfishly, though, here is what I’d like to say – if you are not going to seriously change your business and would prefer instead to coast on the tracks of steady decline in traffic, revenue and profitability, shut up shop now and get out of the way. A decaying retail newsagency harms the many others who are transitioning their businesses. A decaying newsagency is taking some revenue the rest who are here for the long term could benefit from for a brighter future.
The thing is – I don’t want you to close or decline. I want every newsagent to be in the group of transformers. I want every newsagent to be experiencing seriously growing overall GP percentage. I want every newsagent to make more money fro their business in 2017 than they did is 2016. But achieving these things requires a change in mindset, renewed energy and guts to stop being an agent.
Imagine the power we would unleash is the 3,000 newsagency businesses in Australia today all turned 90 degrees or more away from their current path. We can take on supermarkets, gift shops, toy shops and other retail channels if we play outside what has been traditional for our channel. I am optimistic that enough are doing this and more will join them. For those there can be good times ahead.
I guess that brings me to the simplest resolution: nice as traditional is, for newsagents there is no future in being traditional so stop it, ditch it and go make your own business based in what you want to stand for in your local community.
In 2017, let your business whatever that is and not a business defined by an out of date shingle.
We sold our of Wife Christmas cards a couple of hours ago. This is good for us and our card supplier. Selling out with a few hours of Christmas shopping to go is good. However, the husband keen for the purchase was not happy.
What am I supposed to do now, he said.
There is always Coles, I said pointing to the Coles a few metres away.
I hate Coles. No, I was not going to challenge that.
You’re supported to have Christmas cards, he said.
We do have Christmas cards, I said, pointing to the range left. Just not a Wife card.
She’s going to divorce me now, you know what don’t you!
Maybe that’s your Christmas gift. I was pretty sure I could get away with this.
Then she’d kill me. Hmm he didn’t think it was funny.
Look, why not a card For the One I Love, I suggested.
That’s taking it a bit far. He folded his arms.
He stood there expecting more from me. So, we talk through options. It was a Disney sound card that got him, His wife loves Disney. That and a Disney licenced Hallmark Keepsake.
Problem solved. Divorce averted. The choice showed he knew something about her and that was more important that the Wife label on a card.
Last minute shoppers can be challenging.