Stationery

I am not a fan of claiming to have the cheapest prices, the best prices in town or offering a price guarantee that we will not be undersold.

It is my experience retailers making such claims are not the cheapest, offering the best prices or ensuring they deliver the best price so they don’t pay out on a guarantee.

Some product categories in newsagencies lend themselves to price comparison. Ink is one such category, making it important to get right so that you can show, rather than tell, that you have a compelling price offer.

HP 950XL is a popular ink product. It is one of those ink products people look at to judge your pricing policy on ink.

In two different newsagencies I visited this week I have seen HP 950XL priced at $43.20 (as shown in the photo) and $61.00 in another newsagency a short drive sway.

The price difference is a surprise. In the more expensive newsagency the pitch is that their prices are the best. They promote a price guarantee with a 5% discount off the low price if it is less than their price. The cheaper newsagency makes no such claim. They are simply cheaper. Probably a bit too cheap when you research the price for HP 950XL at Officeworks and online.

My feeling, having researched online and offline prices for HP 950XL, is that it should be prices at $59.99 or $99.99 for two as part of an everyday low ink prices strategy. That is my approach.

Ink purchases are often last minute. Selling two cartridges at a lower price today is a good strategy given how people tend to purchase ink. This is my experience in the city at least. In regional and rural areas things could be different.

You need to be price smart – making the most yu can while being seen to be competitive with major competitors.

But back to the two newsagencies I visited this week. I was surprised that the business making a noise about price was the most expensive. What is even more confusing is that the website for the group the more expensive business is part of has a different price, more expensive again.

Inconsistency between online and offline price can turn off shoppers. As more newsagents transact online through their own websites and group websites they will need to be disciplined on price. Otherwise, they risk shoppers turning off when they find different online and offline prices for the same item.

It is easy for these mistakes to happen. The challenge is shoppers and competitors are unlikely to bring them to your attention.

Why ink matters to newsagents.

Newsagents keen to pitch they are price competitive should consider ink as an ideal product category through which to do this. My advice is to research Officeworks, Australia Post, Harvey Norman and JB HiFi. Pitch your price close to theirs. Ideally, just below. They are your main competitor. While beating another newsagent might make you feel good, the other newsagent is not your biggest competitor by volume.

One of the ways we can increase engagement with pens in newsagencies is to change the way we approach pens. Or maybe not change, but add to – keep our traditional pen display and add to it by trying something like this, which I saw in a shop last week.

I watched shoppers in this business and plenty who went to the counter with a purchase tried a pen or two. A couple purchased, making the tactical move valuable for the business.

You don’t need to allocate as much space as you can see in the photo, the keys, though, are to have enough range to make a statement, to make testing easy and to change it up regularly so regulars are not blind to the offer.

When it comes to stationery we rely too much on people seeking out the stationery department and making a destination purchase. We need to do more to drive impulse purchases.

One can never have too many pens … that ought to be our motto.

In Hong Kong this week in plenty of retail businesses I saw excellent examples of products focussed on collectors who spend up big on their passion.

Look at this pen I saw at a S. T. Dupont store, Central, Hong Kong. It is a jewell encrusted train, limited edition, pen.  The price is A$34,000.

This pen is on display for the ‘museum factor’ – to attract people to look, and to sell. yes, people purchase the pen.

Could we sell this in a newsagency? No. Well, probably no. However, in the right situation, I am sure a newsagent could sell one.

We can sell any expensive item in the right circumstances, regardless of the limitations we place on ourselves under our shingle and regardless of the limitations some suppliers place on us because of our shingle.

At our core, we are special interest businesses. In our magazines and some other departments in our businesses we serve people with passions. So, shy not an expensive pen for the train enthusiast? maybe not a $34,000 pen but why not a $500 pen?

In my own newsagency I regularly sell limited edition collectible items priced at between $500 and $1,000. I recall when we got into these some in the channel poked fun. They would not poke fun at the money through the register as a result.

The key is to not look at what we sell in the traditional way. This train pen is not a pen, well it is, but not to most shoppers. No, to a train lover it is a showpiece item for their collection. That it is a pen is of little consideration.

Seeing this pen, and the other collectible pens for other special interests, was a reminder of the value of collectors and the importance of serving them with the same passion with which they collect.