A blog on issues affecting Australia's newsagents, media and small business generally. More ...

Australia Post on freight challenges to and from Western Australia

Australia Post provided this update to its customers Wednesday.

The current extreme weather and flooding have caused significant damage and closure of rail lines and major roads. This is continuing to disrupt and impact transport infrastructure and supply chains to and from Western Australia.

The Australian Government’s National Emergency Management Agency has advised that while the transport system is slowly recovering, the current supply chain disruptions are likely to be ongoing until at least Christmas.

I want to keep you informed about what this means for your business as we prepare for the upcoming sales events.

What’s changing?

Changes to pre-Christmas final lodgement dates for deliveries to and from WA: Given this ongoing situation and the current delays, we have brought forward our recommended pre-Christmas final lodgement dates for Parcel Post deliveries for our Business and Government customers by one week.

The new dates are as follows:

  • Deliveries to WA from the east coast of Australia:
    lodgement by 8 December.
  • Deliveries to NSW from WA:
    lodgement by 6 December.
  • Deliveries to VIC and QLD from WA:
    lodgement by 5 December.

For StarTrack Road Express services, it is recommended you continue to review the StarTrack transit grid, although delays may be experienced for deliveries to and from WA. We recommend lodging your freight as early as possible.

Our Express Post and StarTrack Premium services are currently unaffected, and customers who need to send items to Western Australia urgently are encouraged to consider these options. However, as more customers opt to use these services, we may see a delay on those lanes and will advise should there be any change.

If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact your account manager.

Despite these external challenges, I want to assure you that we are doing all we can to continue to deliver for you and explore all available options to keep your items moving. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these disruptions together and we will continue to keep you updated as the situation evolves.

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Australia Post

We can’t ignore Black Friday in the newsagency

Black Friday, a retail sales tradition that has its roots in the post Thanksgiving sales United States from around 100 years ago.

Amazon really got behind Black Friday. Today in the US, you’d see almost every retailer engaged in one way or another.

Here in Australia, engagement with Black Friday has grown, slowly at first, faster in recent years.

This year, walk around any mall or along any high street shopping setting ad you will see retailers engaged.

Black Friday is an opportunity to quit slower lines and to sell items sourced specifically. It’s also an opportunity to make space before the run home to Christmas.

There are no rules around what to discount or the level of discounts. But because the season is now sir widely adopted, you are in a crowded marketplace and need to yell to be seen and heard.

In my experience, engaging with Black Friday is worth it. We play in-store and well as online. We go out 2 or 3 days before Friday and run through to midnight Monday. Our discounts range from 40% to 50%. We have a good mix of products purchased at a discount so as to maintain GP%.

It’s not too late to engage this year is you move fast today. The display does not need to be special. The key is placement in the best position on the shop floor, simple signage and a pitch on social media.

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Newsagency management

Copy paper supply chain challenges impact Australia stationery retailers and paper users

Kudos to GNS for this advice to customers today about the challenges right now in sourcing copy paper in Australia:

Dear Customers,

GNS has been notified by Opal Australian Paper of a production issue at Opal’s Maryvale Mill, which is likely to impact Opal’s ongoing ability to supply copy paper to us.  Opal’s brands include Reflex, Victory, Brilliant, Australian, Planet Ark, and most private label brands sold by independent dealers.

The production issue relates to the ability of Opal to source wood, the key input required by the Maryvale Mill to manufacture paper. VicForests, a key wood supplier to Opal, has announced that in response to mandatory injunctions issued by the Victorian Supreme Court, it will be suspending most current timber harvesting activities, at least in the short term.  Opal sources 100% of its wood from third parties, including from VicForests, so the decision has had an unexpected impact on Maryvale Mill’s wood supply.  Opal anticipates that this situation may extend for at least up to a couple of months.

Opal is the largest manufacturer of copy paper in Australia, so the production issues are likely to create market-wide shortages and supply constraints for several months.

As a result, and to support our customers with managed supply over the foreseeable future, effective immediately:
•    GNS will move to selling all copy paper brands “on allocation”, with allocation of inventory based on customers’ historic purchase volumes over the last twelve months; and
•    GNS has removed all brands of copy paper from our online site, so purchases will only be able to be made via your Customer Service contact until further notice.

Until we can assure you of wider availability, we believe these measures are necessary to support an orderly and equitable market in copy paper.  We are also working hard to identify cost-effective alternative sources for these ranges and will update you in due course.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions in relation to this matter. We appreciate this is a challenging time and thank you for your understanding.

Kind regards,

Paul Yardley | CEO

GNS Wholesale

I think the move by GNS to an allocations system for copy paper  is fair.

Click here to access the ABC news story about the Maryville Mill as it provides more context for the situation.

Amazon has stock. $28.95 for a box of 2,500 sheets. For those in urgent need.

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Newsagency challenges

Deeper sales basket online

Comparing like for like category online sales to in-store for a couple of online businesses I have that are in the same space as retail shops I own, the average online basket depth is deeper than in-store.

While both in-store and online have seen basket value increase, online is still 40% and more up on in-store. This could be because an online shopper is chasing a free shipping trigger, or because they want everything to come at once whereas a local in-store shopper knows they can return.

We have certainly been thoughtful in our online store settings and our licence product ranging with an eye to achieving a deeper basket.

If have spoken with retailers from several other retail channels and they experience the same – a deeper basket for online sales than in-store.

I mention it today to reflect on another difference online versus in-store – the deeper basket.

A deeper basket is a more efficient sale. Add this to the icing on the cake value of online and you see terrific value for the business from online.

This basket information, coupled with other analytics such as shopper source, returning shopper value, conversion rate and more and you have a dataset that is tremendously useful in considering business development.

At the time of writing, online sales are at 2,642 transactions, which I am very happy about.

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Newsagency management

The Victorian Liberal party pitches payment for state government services in newsagencies

I am not sure what consultation was done on this announcement by the Victorian Liberals to use retail newsagencies as a payment point for state government services. In my opinion this is move few newsagents would want. We have the evidence from years of trying services – bill payment, gambling account top up, parcel collection and more – the services fill the shop with people who do not purchase other things, people angry if you do not attend to their micro margin service.

I see no upside to this for the local Aussie newsagency. But that’s just my opinion.

I tweeted a response about this. Not on the post by SkyNews reporter Simon Love as he blocks comments .. not a fan of free speech I guess. I quoted the tweet instead and which I names Matthew Guy, he won’t see it as I respectfully disagreed with something he tweeted a couple of years ago and he blocked me.

Back in the 1990s when we saw ourselves as service businesses this idea might have been considered.

Times have changed.

The most successful retail newsagency businesses are those focussed on retail, growing sales through product diversity, benefit from good margin and loving shoppers who return because of what you sell and the service you offer on the shop floor.

Handling services like government access payments, parcel pickup and bill payment are all counter-based services. years ago we’d say that it’s at the counter where you make your money. That is not true of retail today. It’s the shop floor where you interact with customers that you make the most money. At least that is what plenty of successful newsagents tell me and it ‘s what I see in my own newsagency shops local high street.s.

I suspect they are pitching the in-store engagement to try and show they are thinking of ways to support local small business retailers. Kudos to them for that. But, this election promise is a fail. People want to transact online for the everyday, even older folks who people say are not online-savvy.

If the Liberals really did want to support local small business retailers they would find a way to nurture and support high street retail, the genuine local retail. Encouraging locals to shop locally on the street rather than in an expensive mall would be a policy win in my view. Too many councils are failing at this. Too many planning decisions approving malls work against the local high street. Yet, if Covid has shows us one thing it’s that shopping outside of a mall is safer.

If Matthew Guy wants to talk about his policy and ways he can better engage with local small business retail, my number is 0418 321 338. Better still, he could host a public forum for local small business retailers where he can listen to what is needed.

Heidi Murphy from radio 3AW tweeted about this, too:

Heidi’s comments are open, which is good.

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Ugh!

Niche interest magazines the best performers in 2022 in the newsagency

Sales of niche magazines are growing from what I can see in my biggest magazine business where we have around 1,100 titles.

While sales of weeklies and major monthlies are good, it’s the niche / special interest titles where we are seeing terrific year on year growth. These titles are attracting new shoppers, too. People are prepared to travel quite a distance to satisfy their interest in niche titles.

Scootering in the 1970s is a good example of niche, very niche even.

I don’t see this growth in my businesses with 300 titles. But in those shops the cost of retail space is considerably higher – so, naturally, we have reduced magazine space because of the low margin for that category.

We are not doing that is the main business as the cost of space is less and we have been able to adjust the business to sell more high margin gifts without harming the growing magazine sales.

We support the niche titles with social media posts, good, easy to access and easy to shop display and shop floor service for those keen for that.

Light Railways is another example of a niche title people will travel for.

I get that some newsagents are angry about magazines, the poor margin, the mediocre quality of the distribution model, but growth is growth, and for me in this shop, range is key to the growth.

I’m not suggesting newsagents expand their range. My purpose here today is to note good news. Hey, a 15% increase in magazine sales is good by any measure. That it is on the back of niche titles gives us a way to replicate the growth into 2023, which we plan to do while seeking ways to cut the overheads relating to magazines so we can make the meagre margin work.

In this business, the magazine relay we did earlier this year has played out well. Adjacency changes have helped to deepen the basket. these niche magazine shoppers are more likely to purchase multiple magazines at a time compared to the weekly and high-volume monthly magazine customers.

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magazines

Our customers don’t like it, they won’t buy it …

As the staff member in a newsagency was saying that, behind their back, a customer picked up two of the items and purchased them.

It frustrates me when I hear about retail business owners, or retail staff, who block the opportunity of success in their business. Their negative talk discourages them from engaging positively, and, if heard by customers, it can discourage them, too.

I saw this firsthand recently in a shop. The staff member didn’t;t think they were doing anything wrong by saying that people shopping in the shop your not like a product. The thing is, they said this without understanding the product.

I opened the product and demonstrated it to them. They loved it. It’s not what they thought it was. Their ignorance had got in the way of them finding joy in something they sell.

I wonder how much business this ignorant approach of our customers don’t like it, they won’t buy it has blocked.

Sure, there are products on any shop floor that don’t sell. You can see that in the data evidence. data matters more than opinion. The staff ember I observed was sprouting off based only on opinion … about the product I mentioned and other products.

If it was up to me I’d invite them to leave the business because their negative commentary suggested they did not like working there.

I am not saying everyone working in retail has to love everything about the business and all the products. Rather, I am saying that product knowledge is the starting point – understand what you sell. If you don’t like it, keep that to yourself. Never speak for what the customers of the business may or may not do. And if you do plan to comment about whether a product works in the business or not, make the comment based on evidence and not opinion.

Retail is more competitive than ever, especially local small business retail. Having a negative staff member facing customers is not good for the business. Such a person needs to either change or leave the business. Doing nothing about this could harm the business.

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Newsagency management

The complex challenge of home delivery in Australia claims Deliveroo as the company enters Voluntary Administration

Deliveroo, a platform with around 15,000 delivery riders in Australia, has announced that the company has been put into Voluntary Administration:

Dear Customer,

We have today made the sad announcement that we are leaving Australia. This has been a difficult decision to make,’ the statement said.

We have enjoyed serving you the amazing food that Australia is known for, working with thousands of brilliant restaurants and riders.

Deliveroo, like all other companies, is now doing business in challenging economic conditions, which requires us to take difficult decisions.

‘We always aim to deliver the best possible service for our consumers wherever we operate, and if we cannot do that we will be prepared to review our position.

‘In Australia, we have concluded that achieving a sustainable position of leadership in the market is not possible without a disproportionate level of investment which would have highly uncertain returns.

On the basis of this decision, Deliveroo Australia has been placed into administration. The director of Deliveroo Australia has appointed Michael Korda, Andrew Knight and Craig Shepard of KordaMentha as voluntary administrators. To find out more, including information for creditors, please visit click here. You will receive further communications from the Administrators shortly.

What this means for you

Deliveroo Australia has ceased operations, meaning you can no longer place orders on Deliveroo in Australia.

You will still be able to access your customer account for up to 6 months from this date onwards. After this period your customer account will be closed. Within this period while your account is open, you can download your customer information.

Thank you for ordering with Deliveroo.

For any further information, please visit the administrators’ website at: https://kordamentha.com/creditors

We want to thank you again for using Deliveroo.

The Deliveroo Team

While Deliveroo was food related and on-demand, it’s early demise is interesting to compare to the 140 years of home delivery by Aussie newsagents. Of course, what newsagents delivered was completely different to the on-demand food-based Deliveroo situation.

This home delivery / last mile / on-demand delivery space is in for a big shake-up. And, no, I don’t see a path back into that space for newsagents. We are better off focussing on the freedom of retail, especially niche local retail.

On the last-mile though, Milkrun appears to be the only business standing in on-demand groceries. Several startups have closed in recent months after pouring through tens of millions of dollars.

In the food space, deliver was fourth in size in Australia. Our marketplace size and geography make this a far more difficult territory than the population concentrated major cuties of the US and UK.

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Newsagency management

Retailers are being swamped with last minute Christmas offers from suppliers.

There has been a flurry of Christmas product pitches and offers from suppliers to newsagents and other retailers over the last two weeks.

I think there are several reasons for this.

  • Supply chain challenges have seen stock arrive late with some suppliers. They were too wary to push what they did not have. Meaning they now and limited time to push.
  • Some others suppliers have over ordered on the back of strong 2021 and 2020 and have not allowed for any post-Covid (even though we are not retail post-Covid) trading situation change.
  • Some are engaged in the usual end of year warehouse clearance for Boxing Day sale opportunities.
  • Some are approaching new channels because of bumpiness being experienced in their traditional channels.

These and probably other reasons have combined to provide us with more product pitches now than is usual for this busy Christmas time of the year. 

It is a lot of noise in an already challenged retail situation with strong trade, staff scarcity and patchy retail conditions.

I am okay with the changes and that suppliers want to pitch what they want / need to move. What I am not okay with is the nosiness, demands and pressure of some. What they think is a good offer may not be and some suppliers don’t realise that their view may not be the view of the retailer.

A couple of suppliers have recently asked me what they can do to boost Christmas sales. I’ve said it’s too late, there is nothing to do now as most retailers have their Christmas plans well and truly set. Any pitch now needs to be out of the box compelling at a level that demands attention. I’ve said unless it is that, don’t waste retailer time as they are too busy.

Oh, and by out of the box compelling, I mean a discount so good that the retailer can sell at half price and still make better than average margin. I appreciate that’s a tall ask. But, if you want attention from retailers in the next few weeks, that is what it will take.

While Christmas sales are excellent, and Boxing Day should be goon=d in states with it, most smart retailers planned for these opportunities early this year, making current pitches very late.

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Newsagency management

Hiring without an interview

Such is the labour market situation right now that businesses are hiring without an interview.

Back in the day, you’d create a shortlist of candidates, bring them in for an interview followed, usually, by a trial shift for maybe two of them.

Retailers I have spoken with recently are hiring based on a quick phone call, starting the chosen candidates at the next available shift, and hoping they have got it right.

While this change to rapid and unchecked hiring does not sound ideal, it seems to be working. I know in my own case that is what has happened. Maybe I have been lucky. I am not 100% sure though. But maybe, the old approach was unnecessarily time-consuming.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

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Newsagency management

Terrific online sales for newsagents

Plenty of newsagents with their own website are enjoying terrific online sales, and by terrific I mean good enough to add real value to the bottom line of the business.

In my own 4 shops we run for store specific Shopify websites, and they are doing well … but more on the results of those another time.

For many years, newsXpress has offered free access to members to sell on network connected Magento based tech websites for Jigsaws, Pop! Vinyls and Beanie Boos. These websites generate online sales for businesses without the need for a local store website.

What’s unique about the websites is that they offer shoppers a single warehouse view for items located across the fleet of connected newsXpress businesses. This tech was built before Magento offered it. It was ground-breaking on so many levels.

People shopping on the site can also see exact current stock on hand data at the store level. We do this to drive in-store traffic. We know from Telstra data that more than half of the time people use a website is to see what stock is available in a shop they are considering visiting.

By offering shoppers access to inventory across a fleet of stores drives a deeper basket. The tech of the website preferences stores closest to the delivery destination, fanning out based on availability.

It is common to see big sales, like this one from yesterday morning going to  Moreton Bay in Queensland:

Placed on 12 November 2022 7:34:38 am AEDT
Item Store Sku Qty Subtotal
Slush the Dog Large Beanie Boo newsXpress Gifted & More Kaleen 008421370696 1 $59.99
Prince the Blue Husky Medium Beanie Boo newsXpress Gifted & More Kaleen 008421364749 1 $17.99
Nori the Narwhal Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Sarina 008421362165 1 $9.99
Buff the Husky Regular Beanie Babies newsXpress George Town 008421421831 1 $9.99
Twiggy the Pink Owl Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress George Town 008421368464 2 $19.98
Melly the Gray Koala Regular Beanie Bellies newsXpress Southland 008421407262 1 $9.99
Camilla the Poodle Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Sarina 008421363834 1 $9.99
Halloween Tatters the White Mummy Regular Beanie Bellies newsXpress Southland 008421409266 1 $9.99
Christmas Bella the Brown Bear regular Beanie Boo newsXpress George Town 008421372409 1 $9.99
Chessie the Brown Monkey Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Sarina 008421363919 1 $9.99
Romeo the Valentine’s Day Dog Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress George Town 008421368648 1 $9.99
Turbo the Spotted Turtle Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Newhaven 008421363926 2 $19.98
Juliet the Valentine’s Day Penguin Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Sarina 008421368655 1 $9.99
Tamoo the Monkey Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress George Town 008421368471 1 $9.99
Lola the Multicoloured Llama Regular Beanie Babies newsXpress Newhaven 008421412174 1 $9.99
Yips the Chihuahua with Horn Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Gifted & More Kaleen 008421363209 1 $9.99
Christmas Kinley the Brown Reindeer Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Treendale 008421364992 1 $9.99
Halloween Drizella the Crimson Bat Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Sefton Plaza 008421364961 1 $9.99
Grindal the Dragon with Horn Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Southland 008421363216 1 $9.99
Sheldon the Coral Octopus Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Gifted & More Kaleen 008421363902 1 $9.99
Halloween Radar the Bat Beanie Boo newsXpress Treendale 008421362370 1 $9.99
Jamal the Camel Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress Sefton Plaza 008421362233 1 $9.99
Gilda the Pink Flamingo Slippers Medium newsXpress Newhaven 008421953387 1 $29.99
Bamboo the Panda Slippers Medium newsXpress Newhaven 008421953363 1 $29.99
Bamboo the Panda Sequin Square Purse newsXpress Sefton Plaza 008421951420 1 $24.99
Whimsy the Cat Sequin Square Purse newsXpress Treendale 008421951512 1 $24.99
Lion King Nala Regular Beanie Babies newsXpress Southland 008421412648 1 $14.99
Dexter the Brown Chihuahua Regular Beanie Boo newsXpress George Town 008421368785 1 $9.99
Subtotal $432.70
Shipping & Handling $0.00
GST $39.34
Grand Total $432.70

For orders over $100.00 shipping is free. It is subsidised by newsXpress to help member businesses maintain good margin. They purchase the Boos for a lower price than any other retailer, which also helps.

I share this here today for a few reasons:

  • There are some in our channel who talk down online, saying it is not big in newsagency businesses. I know of plenty of newsagency businesses where online is more than 25% of revenue. I suspect they talk it down as that narrative suits their commercial interests.
  • There are some newsagents who don’t think they can do online. Some of the businesses listed above thought that too. All they had to do is to flick a switch to get sales.
  • Online revenue is usually to people you will never see in your shop. It’s icing on the cake revenue that leverages existing inventory, labour and space.
  • Collaboration magnifies the value opportunity for newsagents. Our channel started as a collective of small businesses working together. Over the years, the collective faded away. Small businesses collaborating to support a single website help those businesses win sales they would otherwise not win. This sale, a not uncommon sale, is an example of the value of collaboration.
  • Actions speak louder than words. In our marketing, newsXpress says it offers these types of group member websites. This post backs that up with evidence. This Boo website has been live for many years. It has generated millions of dollars in revenue.
  • Some in our channel say Beanie Boo sales are dead. I say there is no evidence is sales revenue that is the case.
  • Some say it costs too much in stock. I know of newsXpress businesses winning good Boo sales from $1,000 in stock.
  • Some say online is too hard. It’s not when you have good head office support and good tech for capturing and managing sales.
  • Small businesses can compete with big businesses. This sale represents and the Boo website offers proof that small business retailers can compete with big businesses. Big W, target and K-Mart can’t and don’t match what this time offers, and shoppers understand that.

The big thing about online and those who talk it down or question results, you don’t know what you don’t know. By this I mean, unless you are active in the online space, and I mean deeply active here running 1, 2, 3 or more consumer-facing websites of your own and have done so for several years, you really don’t know what you don’t know.

I have discovered that for myself.

We launched a new consumer-facing website a few months ago. It did okay, but was soft. We looked at how people engaged, where they spent time, what they picked up but did not purchase, and more. We modified the website and it was like turning on a tap. $15,000 in sales in 4 weeks. $15,000 additional revenue for the newsagency business. 50% margin business. Business leveraging existing stock, labour and space. And, this website is a baby, it’s not even walking yet.

I have to say, though, that what I have not yet covered here is the website failures, and there are some glorious failures that have been wonderful learning experience. the successes today stand on the broken bones of those files websites. It’s what happens in business: try something and if it fails it becomes a success by teaching you things.

Online is not going away. I think it is essential for every retail business to have an online opportunity in their business. The best opportunities will come from those connected to, those who understand your business those who want to help you bring it to life for you, and not your local web developer or accountant.

Is this a newsXpress pitch? Kind of. But it is more a pitch about the importance and value of being online, being found by people who do not walk past your front door … because it is those people who offer you the icing on the cake opportunity, the bottom line net profit hit we all love to see.

8 likes
Newsagency management

News Corp. makes it so difficult to cancel a subscription to The Australian that some are bound to give up

A couple of weeks ago I signed up for a digital subscription to The Australian because there was a story I wanted to read and I figured $4.00 was okay since I could cancel.

Two days ago I decided to cancel, before the end of the initial $4 period offer. I figured I’d go to the New Corp. website for The Australian, login to my account, click cancel, and be done. No, not so easy. In fact, it was hard, messy and slow, close to impossible.

News Corp puts up a ton of barriers on The Australian website, demonstrating a clear disinterest in even basic customer service.

I went to my account on their website, clicked manage my subscription, clicked cancel and the website provided a phone number. I thought that’s odd, I must be able to cancel without speaking to anyone. Anyway, I clicked chat, and here’s how that went.

So, I called, navigated their phone system, and eventually got to speak with someone. They were courteous, but not keen for me to go. I had to repeat I want to cancel several times before they agreed to take that step for me – but not before they wanted to know why I wanted to cancel and not before they pitched an offer for me to stay, two weeks free I think.

That phone call took between 5 and 7 minutes, all for a subscription that is cents a day. I wondered how many people would stay with the company going through that. It must be enough for them to have this commercial business model of barriers in place making it so hard and time consuming and threatening almost to cancel.

My customer experience with News Corp was frustrating, time consuming, off-putting. While the person I spoke to was courteous, it should not take me asking multiple times to cancel. The experience was bad enough that I won’t sign up again, even if I am desperate to read an article. Cancelling took too long, their obsession with wanting to know why even though I said it was none of their business was rude, confronting.

I get that I am not a natural News Corp customer – I think they negatively impact our democracy given the political lobbying campaigns they run dressed up as news under their mastheads – but I was a customer for a brief while and the process of ending that was appalling, so much so that I want to tell others considering subscribing with News Corp – don’t as they make it way to hard to leave them … appalling customer service.

The thing about online is that people was a frictionless experience, smooth, enjoyable. The News Corp experience was anything but. For a company that shouts everyday at some politicians and everyday people – telling us what to think, how to behave, they could do well to focus inwards and yell at themselves. Their online house needs to be improved.

On a scale of 0 to 5 rating the News Corp online subscription cancellation experience where 0 is appalling and 5 is excellent, I’d give it a .5 – primarily because the website did not crash at least and their phone system did not auto hang up on me.

25 likes
Ethics

5 reasons why Christmas 2022 may not be the same as Christmas 2021, and why that’s okay

Some media outlets are running stories about a downturn in shopper confidence and predictions from some questionable retail ‘experts’ saying Christmas 2022 will be down on 2021.

I think it would be unhelpful to get drawn into what might be.

We can’t change customer sentiment ourselves, just as in our small businesses we cannot change statewide or national retail performance.

We can only focus on that over which we have control. If we put out the best Christmas offer we can and market it in the best way we are able, that’s all we can ask of ourselves.

Christmas 2022 may not be as good as Christmas 2021 for newsagents and here’s why:

  • For chunks of 2021, borders were closed and many were in lockdown. That meant people planning on sending gifts rather than being with people in person.
  • There was more handout money in the economy in 2021, mainly from Covid support programs.
  • Interest rates were stable in 2021. They are not as bad in 2022 as some media outlets shout about, but they are on the rise and some people have taken on debt without considering that the cost of the debt may rise.
  • Plenty of our competitor retailers had been closed through lockdowns, some did not reopen. New businesses have opened since.
  • Even though 2021 was Covid impacted, we all knew were we stood, there was more certainty in restrictions. Plenty are still getting used to less regulation / control.

Odd as it may be, I think 2022 feels more disrupted than 2021 because we are on the other side of Covid restrictions, but Covid is very much still here. Business rosters are still being impacted by Covid. Working from home continues to be a thing for many. The supply chain continues to be a mess. Product quality out of some countries is worse.

Another factor I could have added to the above list is that some people are staying away from shops because of the lack of Covid restrictions. People who are immunocompromised, for example, may choose to not venture into Christmas retail.

We don’t know what’s ahead. I suspect this unknown has enough people being cautious that it impacts shopper behaviour. For what it’s worth, I think a good value proposition this Christmas will do well.

Now, all of this relates to in-store. What about online? Well, since you asked … I suspect online will have a good Christmas in part because the pool from which online draws knows no borders and in that is opportunity for smart and engaged retailers. The other benefit of online is that we have data, excellent data, about what the shopper is looking for, where they are, whether they are a first time visitor or a returning shopper, and more. Plus, with online, it’s easy to tap them on their shoulder as they leave and pitch an opportunity – these exit pitches tend to work at least 10% of the time.

So, yeah, Christmas 2022 may not be as good as Christmas 2021 … but I bet it will be better than Christmas 2019 and that is the comparison that I will look at, that is the comparison that matters.

For now, though, we need to focus on all over which we have control: what we stock, how we display it, in-store customer service and our own personal touches that make shopping in our shops different, more enjoyable, more memorable. That’s all we can do … focus on that over which we have control.

I wish our news outlets were more thoughtful in their coverage of what might be. What I have seen recently is likely to have a negative impact, even though the ‘reporting’ has not been based on evidence. Anyone can write a story based on a survey of what people may do. It’s speculation, unhelpful.

15 likes
Newsagency management

How newsXpress is helping newsagents increase card sales

newsXpress has launched a integrated in-store and online cam pain to encourage uplift in card sales in its member newsagency businesses.

At the heart of the campaign is 2 cards designed and printed on quality stock in Melbourne, cards with captions that are not common in the Christmas card mix.

I am not aware of any similar campaign ever and am proud to be part of a team bringing this to life for local small business newsagents.

Here’s a video I shot Sunday explaining the campaign.

Here is some of the kit of digital assets provided to newsXpress members to support this campaign.

This campaign is 100% free for newsXpress members. It’s set to drive terrific commercial and social value.

I am the managing director of newsXpress. While this may look like a sales pitch for the marketing group, it is also a call to action to everyone involved with cards in newsagencies to actively engage in increasing card sales. Putting cards in a pocket is not enough.

Helping people understand the value of a greeting card beyond that moment they receive it, open it and read it is key to what we are trying here. Showing people reasons to give cards beyond the traditional is a factor. Using the card as a means for creating a keepsake for years to come is also key.

The more all of us in card retail engage with these and other ways to broaden the value proposition of cards the more we can expect to sell. It is vital we do this.

Our competitors in the card space, major retailers, are only interested in moving stock. Marketing to them is most likely to be price (discount) related. I don’t see any of them engaged with any ac giving to broaden the appeal of cards, to get people buying more than usual.

This campaign is designed to offer newsXpress stores an exclusive value with a category engaging opportunity at its core.

I appreciate there may be some who make fun of or criticise this campaign. If you hear that, please ask what they are doing to grow card sales, to grow engagement with the card category, to pitch cards in a way that nurtures engagement beyond the first opening of a card.

This campaign has only been live a few days and already the feedback has been terrific.

10 likes
Greeting Cards

Good retail sales data from the ABS

Sales data from the ABS indicate good results, and they offer a benchmark against which we can be compared in our retail businesses. This chart using ABS data and from the centre for Future Work is fascinating

Click here to get to the ABS website for more comprehensive data, including an analysis of the percentage of online versus in-store.

0 likes
Newsagency management

Fringe conspiracy theory packaged as news on today’s Herald Sun front page

Today’s Herald Sun front page story is a disgrace in my view. Here they are going oxygen to a fringe conspiracy theory about Dan Andrews and ignoring the extraordinary and explosive evidence at the Robodebt Royal Commission last week. The former is political interference and the latter is actual news.

It shames me to play a role is making this trash available.

12 likes
Ethics

Things newsagents and any retailer can do to better protect their businesses from an outside cyber attack

What happened to Optus, Medibank and Harcourt in recent weeks could happen to any business. Cyber attacks are on the rise, because data has a value. Understanding the value of data is the key to investment in its security.

My Tower Systems POS software company prepared and published advice to its 3,000+ customer community. I share this advice here as it could be useful to any retailer or business owner.

There are things you can do in your business to better protect it from attack. We put together this advice for our POS software customers and share it here with you. Here is our advice:

Security is important for any business and it is important that you protect your business as best you can while still allowing the business to operate efficiently. This is not just for the security of you business and customer data but to provide protection against malicious attacks such as ransomware. 

Below we will list the things you can do to ensure your computers are as secure as possible.  However, some of these restrictions may not be for suitable for all businesses. You will need to decide what is your best approach while being aware of the risks associated.

Windows Usernames and Passwords

The easiest form of security you can enable is having each computer require a username and password to access it.  The passwords should be changed every couple of months.  A drawback of having usernames and passwords is that you need to ensure that all staff are aware of the passwords so that access is not hampered.

Windows Active Directory via AzureAD or Similar

An option for an additional layer of security (over and above standard windows usernames and passwords) is to implement a domain network where staff logging in are authenticated by a Windows Active Directory service.  This option has a not-insignificant cost associated with it. It also means that you will need to allocate staff individual accounts and they would need to use these to access your system.  Implementation of this may also have setup ramifications for your POS software. 

Remote Desktop

If you are not using Windows Remote Desktop (RDP) this it is highly recommended that you disable this service in Windows.  If you are using this service then ensure you have a very strong password that is updated regularly. The preferred option for RDP is to use this via a VPN however if this is not possible access should be limited to specific IP addresses.   Additionally, when this is used in conjunction with an active directory service, like the one mentioned above, this adds an additional layer of security.

Backups

Our recommendation is to use a cloud backup service that incrementally backs up your entire PC.  Consider adding a cloud backup service to any computer that stores any valuable data, not just your server.  It is imperative that the service you use has both a local and a cloud copy for easy disaster recovery.

Browser Passwords

While saved browser passwords are very helpful, it does open a risk should your PC be compromised.  Our suggestion is to not save passwords, especially for accessing any service that stores sensitive data, like bank login etc.  Consider using a password manager such as LastPass or 1password to help you remember passwords.

Emails

Once of the biggest security risks in your business is email.  Only open attachments and click on links in emails that you are sure are from known senders.  Check email addresses as well as the sender’s name. If it sounds suspicious, it probably is.

People Remote Connecting to your Computer/Network

Be careful about who you let take remote control of your computer, ensure they are from who they say they are.  If you are suspicious, terminate the call and call the representative back on a publicly available number.

Don’t use out-of-date Software, Hardware or Operating Systems.

Keep your systems up to date by ensuring you are running versions of software, operating systems and hardware that are still supported by their manufacturers. Make sure that any updates to software, especially Windows security updates, are loaded as soon as possible.  This will ensure that you are not susceptible to any vulnerabilities have been patched by the supplier. 

5 likes
Management tip

What did the $160M Powerball jackpot mean for lottery app downloads?

Lottery app downloads are an indicator of interest in the purchase of lottery tickets online rather than over the counter, in-store.

I am grateful to have received this graph via Taylor Collison. It plots app downloads for The Lott, OZ Lotteries, LotteryWest, Lottoland and The Lottery Office.

Almost all achieved significant growth on downloads with The Lott and OzLotteries being the big winners. The Lott accounts for 66% of the 290,000 downloads in the month of October.

It will be interesting to see the percentage of online versus in-store revenue once The Lott publishes those figures. As we have seen, the growth in online far outstrips anything achieved in-store. I would also like to see the volume of returning business from online customers. In fact, that information would be fascinating and useful.

It makes sense that people choose convenience. When you turn on the news and see lines on people snaking out of retail businesses under the pump to deal with jackpot sales it makes sense that people look for an easier way to purchase. And while video and images of lines of people make for stories, the reality is people were served quickly and efficiently, and helpfully with so many first-time and infrequent Powerball shoppers asking questions.

I know many newsagents thrilled with the revenue boost from the recent Powerball $160M jackpot. The boost in commission this far out from Christmas was welcome, and appreciated. Plus, I;’m tole, there was a boost in other sales because of the increase in foot traffic. Of course, the smart retailers with a good in-store configuration and tactical placement of impulse purchase opportunities did best from this.

I remain frustrated that The Lott continues to require so much of retailers in the knowledge of on-going migration from in-store purchase. A fairer approach would provide retailers with more freedom and less requirement to be a billboard for what is a growing online business. This freedom could strengthen these lottery agent businesses and thereby make them more valuable to The Lott into the future.

This is such an easy thing for The Lott to fix. A discrete trial would, I suspect, reveal to them that offering retailers more freedom to use currently The Lott designated space would have no negative impact on lottery ticket sales.

7 likes
Ethics

Kudos (for the most part) to Mitsubishi Pencil Australia for their plastic-free initiative

This announcement is good. It offers newsagents stocking these products a good story to share.

That said, it is frustrating that they launched this first with Officeworks – way to show small business retailers how little they mean to you Mitsubishi.

The uni-ball brand is regarded around the world for its high-quality writing instruments.

At Mitsubishi Pencil Australia are now focusing our efforts on the company’s sustainability efforts with the uni-ball range at the forefront of our campaign to reduce the use of single-use plastics.

From November 1st 2022, we will be rolling out single use plastic packaging across our hang-sell range.

Our new packaging marks a change in Australia, moving from plastic blister cards to 100% plastic-free packaging. The new packaging is currently available at Officeworks stores and will begin to be rolled out across all channels from November 2022.

4 likes
Ethics

In chasing volume, some suppliers let down their customers

Several suppliers in categories in or nearby our channel are reviewing retail partner arrangements, preferencing retailers who spend more with them as if the annual spend is the most important measure.

In a couple of cases, the local Australian suppliers are being told what to do by large international brands they represent.

None of those involved in this resetting of local retail relationships appear to have considered the impact on the customers, those who love and purchase their brands at retail.

Australian geography as it is sees many retailers serving small communities, dedicated communities.

In one such community, the retailer is delivering brand penetration several times greater than capital city retailers. But since their annual spend on a brand does not reach the bar set by the owners of the brand, they are losing the product.

This is a stupid and ignorant move by the brand. Some of their customers, brought to their brand by the local retailer, may pay more for online (once you add shipping) while others will give up on the brand, in part because of their actions against a local retailer they love.

Too many business owners and leaders chase volume / size because they think size matters.

While size does matter as an overall business performance marker, the best size, or revenue, is that which is spread across many accounts, many retailers. This approach is smart business as it means the supplier is not reliant on a few. But it is harder business to get and manager, with many more accounts.

Predictable business is important in any business. Serving a smaller number of large accounts is not as predictable as serving a large number of smaller accounts. Sadly, some large brands don’t see it that way. I guess leadership team members are not there long enough to see this.

In our retail businesses, we, too, need to manage for efficiency and predictability. This is why I try and have balance in my retail businesses, less reliance on a supplier or product category dominating revenue or GP achieved in the business. This way, one can fall and the business itself is not too harmed.

Any retail business dominated by one supplier is unhealthy at its core, at risk the supplier’s interests are not its interests.

There is too much talk in news outlets and business magazines about business size, too much obsession at business conferences and in industry trade journals about what big business thinks and does and about what successful big business people have done. we need to focus more on our scale, efficiency at our level, at business predictability at our level.

Business size does not matter. What matters is the value the business provides those who rely on it: the owners, employees and customers. In small business retail, our decisions and actions will do more to drive this value than a performance bar set by a supplier.

The suppliers chasing larger accounts, pushing us to reach an arbitrary bar they have set for doing business with them … good luck to them. I don’t trust them enough to believe that achieving today’s bar will satisfy them. I’d rather replace them with two or three smaller suppliers whop are more interested in and appreciative of my business.

12 likes
Management tip

Halloween can be as big as you make it

I know of newsagency businesses doing thousands of dollars in Halloween products by going big with home decor items for lavish parties.

Others do well with spider webs, blood and pumpkin buckets.

Others do well with plush.

The thing is, Halloween is a good season for fun in the shop, for events, and for sales.

It very much is one of those seasons that you get from it what you invest, in-store and out of stores. Yes, it’s work, but in the right area the rewards can be terrific.

2 likes
newsagency marketing
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