Engaged retailers have their plans in motion for port Father’s Day activity on the shop floor. For some it will be a move into Halloween, for others it will be a Spring launch of new products, for some it may be a move into graduation and / or wedding season, while for others it will be clearance ahead of Christmas.
It’s important that there is a shop floor reset from today, a major reset, the kind of reset shoppers notice and comment on, something that gets people talking to others about.
Today is not too late to consider and act on a post Father’s Day reset.
Taking down Father’s Day and not making a change into something fresh is a mistake in my opinion. Certainly, newsagents years ago would do that, do nothing after Father’s Day for a while. Our in-store actions back then were guided by suppliers. The needs of suppliers don’t match the in store calendar needs of newsagents, or any retailers.
Focussing on a Spring launch would need you to have bought stock months ago to be ready for this. The same is true with Halloween. Graduation and Wedding are easier to lean into as there is plenty of product available and you could have it in-store within a few days.
If you have not planned for post-Father’s Day and want some tips for what you could pull together easily, here are my suggestions relying on products you are likely to have in0store right now:
Kids activities. This pitches stationery and toys. It appeals to a good cross section.
A post-Winter sale. It’s a good opportunity to quit what’s not working.
Graduation. People will buy early. You need to guide them through with product opportunities right in front of them.
Colour block. This is easy. Bring together in a font of store display everything you have that features the colour you choose. My advice is do this for a week and then change colour, and repeat this change for a month. It takes care of in-0store promotions for 4 weeks and that gives you time to plan. Here are some photos from one of my shops.
Colour blocking displays like these can be put together in an hour. They use existing stock. Customers always comment positively, and they find things they never knew you stocked. This is why a colour block display is my go-to if I am not sure what to do next. They are also differentiating since most retailers will not do a cross product category display like this. here in suburban Melbourne, these colour block displays work for us.
Back to post Father’s Day though – do something. Make a statement,. Get shoppers in-store noticing.
It makes sense when you think about it. Unemployment is up, more people are either out of work or not getting the hours they want. These people and those close to them are more likely to preference Australian made is they have a choice.
Buying Australian made is a choice plenty of Aussies lean into. This is more true I think in economic conditions in which we find ourselves at the moment.
In the greeting card space it is easy for us to pitch Australian made in newsagencies. All we have to do is to turn the card over and point to printed in Australia, which you will see on cards from several Australian card companies. That these businesses are also Australian owned is a bonus. That their cards perform well, driving good year on year results, extends the bonus.
If you stock Australian made cards, pitch that on social media and in-store. Be grateful and proud to support Australian made. This is a good shop local pitch without sprouting the cliche chop local lines. A photo is a good social media pitch, each too.
When people talk about unemployment or the economy we can join in the conversation, or we can show through our actions that we are doing what we can to support Australian jobs and the Australian economy. Greeting cards are an excellent place in our businesses for doing this.
I think it is better for us to show through our actions and for me the easiest and best step we can take is to preference Australian made products. It’s an easy step we can take, too, with a guaranteed win based on the data I see from hundreds of newsagencies.
If you have Australian made cards, be sure your staff know how to pitch Australian made, talk about it on social media, talk about your commitment to Australian made in the context of helping address unemployment, show them at the counter, use shelf-talkers in-store and be proud.
card companies with non Australian made cards may pitch deals to buy your business. While it’s up to you, I am of the firm view that Australian made is a big selling benefit here right now, and we have hundreds and hundreds of wonderful Australian made cards we can stock.
The local Aussie newsagency should, in my view, be the best place in town pitching Australian made.
We along with plenty of newsXpress shops are grateful to be able to exclusively offer the 50c NAIDOC coin in change we give to customers from tomorrow. While there will be many visiting to buy the coin due to its rarity in circulation, it’s available for change only. By giving it only as change customers who purchase something, we help the celebratory coin reach more people.
It’s been wonderful working with the Royal Australian Mint on this project, moving sought-after this circulating currency around the country to shops so that Aussies can access the coin. It’s not been like moving regular product. There is the value consideration as well as weight.
The design symbolises the care, strength and rich culture of our many Indigenous communities. The strong ‘50’ at the centre of the coin highlights the strong history of the National NAIDOC Committee, while the gathering of the 10 individuals in blue at the bottom of the coin represents the coming together of the committee in collaboration.
You’d have to be living under a rock to not be aware of challenging economic conditions being reported on daily. We are seeing the daily reporting play out in retail with people being more careful on what they spend. The number of people emailing and dropping in resumes to retailers has spiked over the last month. We receive resumes here at the office daily, way more than in years.
It’s a challenging economy. FYI, here is some of our advice I have shared with retailers:
The current economic conditions are not normal. You cannot trade as if they are normal.
Where possible, pitch Australian made. This lands well everyday, and especially in times of higher unemployment.
Show value through a loyalty offer with cash off the next purchase. Cash is better understood than points, and big business competitors can’t compete.
Stock what you know sells for you. Typically, your top 25 sellers are out of stock 20% of the time.
Make the in-store experience happy and welcoming.
Quit dead stock. If it’s not sold in 6 months, why is it on your shelves?
Expand the appeal of your business with products you’ve never stocked before and pitch them outside your business.
Reset the front 3 metres of your shop weekly. Give the shop a fresh feel.
Ensure every hour of labour cost on your roster delivers value.
Ask a supplier pitching a new product these questions:
Who is the customer?
How can I reach them?
How valuable are they to me over a year?
How many Google searches are there in Australia every month for this product?
When they search, what is the search text?
I mention this because suppliers, too, need to adjust their businesses to reflect the economic conditions.
On top of what you read and feel about the economy, retailers have just had to absorb a 3.75% wage increase and a .5% superannuation contribution increase. Add to this a minimum 5% annual increase in rent and a 33% increase in insurance and you can get a sense of the stress some will be under.
Suppliers can help by:
Ensuring stockists are listed on your website.
Linking to stockist websites from your website. Backlinks this are valuable.
Promoting your stockists regularly on social media.
Ensuring every contact has commercial value to the retailer.
Anything suppliers can do to help newsagents and other retailers make their businesses more valuable is appreciated.
The alternative to the action for retailers and suppliers noted here is to do nothing, to treat things as business as usual. That’s not a smart move in my opinion. Whether our businesses are experiencing challenges or not, there is enough noise out there to indicate action is needed.
Where can I find a newsagent near me? It is the most common search online with the term newsagent in the search. There are around 20,000 such searches a month in Australia. Once we add similar and related searches, the number hits 40,000 a month.
The thing is, though, this search Where can I find a newsagent near me? is not the biggest search relating to our channel and what we sell. People don’t search for a retail shingle, they search for an outcome, a product, brand or category. Someone looking for a birthday card is many times more likely to search for birthday card than for a newsagent. Don’t take my word for it – the evidence is in current search data for Australian online searches.
It’s one reason you need the be thoughtful in what you call your products if they will ultimately me sold online. I saw a newsagent recently call a Jellycat Bashful plush toy and pink plush toy. People will for search online for a pink plush toy, they will search for a Jellycat plush toy with Jellycat being the most important word in the product description.
By all means try and index well for newsagent. My advice, for what it’s worth, is to invest time in indexing well for brands and product categories as that is where the real traffic is. This focus will also help as you transition from legacy newsagency products into better margin and traffic generating products for which our channel is not known.
If you have a website connected to your newsagency and you want to catch some easy traffic, write a blog post with the headline of Where can I find a newsagent near me? and write about your business, what you offer and why visiting your shop could be satisfying if you are asking Where can I find a newsagent near me?.
I trust you can see what I have done here. yes, I have done exactly what I suggest you do. Use the headline based on this most common of questions and answer it in in the context of your website. Search engines and AI LLMs will ultimately learn from this.
Nine Media has announced to newsagents price increases for its newspapers effective from August 26. At 10% (or less) gross profit per title, we need to wonder about the value of stocking these products. They are loss making in all but the newsagencies doing the biggest sales. We have to sell 10 copies of a paper to cover the cost of one being stolen and, yes, newspaper theft in newsagencies is a problem.
Years ago we would make 25% of the cover price. Today, as this table shows, we are at 10% or less.
In today’s cashless world, the cost is more with EFTPOS fees ranging from 1% to 1.5% of purchase price.
With 80% and more newspaper purchases for a newspaper alone, the basket value of the category is not there for us. And to publisher reps who may say that’s it’s on newsagents to leverage newspaper traffic, studies have shown that getting destination newspaper shoppers to purchase something else in the visit is next to impossible.
Just as newspaper publishers are managing their businesses for the ultimate exit from the print medium, so much newsagents. Smart newsagents have been working toward this inevitable day for many years.
The Lottery Corporation (TLC) published their full year results this morning in which they reported that for the full year, 40.9% of lottery revenue came from online, for which they note: Nearly half of the growth in digital share came from digital sales on which commissions are retained.
On the $200M Powerball jackpot, they note on page 16: Turnover of $320m; equivalent of 1 in 2 Australian adults purchased an entry; digital sales 47%.
On page 16 of their deck they note: Elevated personalised marketing through digital channels.
Digital features in their plans:
At least one analyst has noted today that in the second half of the financial year, digital sales hit 42% of revenue.
What all of this means for lottery retailers is: focus on attracting shoppers to your business for products beyond lotteries while serving lottery customers the best you can.
Lottery shoppers are migrating to digital purchase. I think in-store purchase will decline except for big jackpots. Act now to make your business attractive for non lottery purchases so that the migration does not negatively impact the value you derive from your business today and when you choose to exit. Lobby to limit capital investment in representing TLC in your business and push to open the currently quarantined TLC required space so you can pitch other products, like some of your competitors are allowed today.
Also, if I had lotteries in my businesses, I would be actively pitching syndicates through TheLott app to capture business outside of my shop. What TLC has enabled here in the last year in this space is terrific for retailers I think.
Click here to access all the ASX announcements from TLC.
Now, if you are still with me and reading this, thank you by the way, here is what TLC should do to better connect with and support the retailers who do currently account for the majority of their business:
Open the TLC dedicated space and allow retailers to reasonably place other products to maximise the lottery shopper visit.
Work with retailers on seasonal collab opportunities.
Make it easier for people using the TLC website or app to find nearby retailers.
Pull back on some breach criteria as the stress caused for local small business retailers does hot match some infringements.
I don’t think any of these moves would harm or damage business prospects for TLC. In fact, I suspect they would improve thanks to retailer happiness.
On the issue of suppliers to retailers also selling direct to consumers, this is a road suppliers need to navigate thoughtfully and with respect to the retailers they supply. TLC makes it clear in the presentation that selling direct is more profitable for them. As a public company, driving shareholder value is their top obligation. However, lumbering retailers with obligations that hold back the retailers is, in my opinion, unfair, socially irresponsible. TLC needs to address this.
I asked an AI platform what the future of newsagents is? While the decline of print media has posed significant challenges, many newsagents have adapted and diversified their offerings to remain competitive.
Here’s a 22 minute video shot this morning in which I discuss this:
Social media continues to be a terrific tool attracting new shoppers to any retail business. The key is to be fully engaged with the opportunity.
You have to be visible. And, by you, I mean you as the owner or at the very least the personality of the business.
Too many newsagency businesses today have junk on their Facebook pages, bland posts, often done by others, filling space with boring content people scroll by quickly. This is wasted effort. These pages are likely seeing minimal engagement.
Here’s my advice for a more successful social media presence.
Write your own posts.
Reflect you in your posts.
Entertain. People come to social media to be entertained.
Educate. Become known for useful content.
Be grateful: for unique products and your customers.
Support the community – promote local groups.
Be authentic.
Be unique. Reflect how your business is different.
On this last point, while lottery businesses and magazine publishers like to see you pitching their products, posting about them does not differentiate your business. Those posts, I think are a reason to scroll by anything from you.
I know of local retail businesses that have 30,000+ followers on social media thanks engagement with content like that listed above.
A good starting point is to treat each post as if it’s the first contact someone will have with your business.
Take a look at your social media presence and assess whether it is how you want your business reflected. If it’s not, pivoting to posts that are more meaningful and engaging is easy.
Pre Covid I used to host Newsagency of the Future workshops around the country, meeting hundreds of newsagents, looking at trends impacting our channel and speculating on what our future could look like.
This session next Tuesday will look at where newsagencies are at today, consider trends in the world that impact retail broadly and our channel specifically and contemplate what a Newsagency of the Future could look like. I’ll offer actionable practical steps for today.
This is a free session. Anyone is welcome to join live. I will share the video.
My goal for hosting this session as it has been for similar sessions I have hosted for many years is to offer newsagents ways they can enhance the relevance of their businesses, the enjoyment they derive from their businesses and the value their businesses bring them and those who rely on the business for economic sustenance.
Back in the day it was the ability of newsagency software to manage magazines, handle customer account books, manage newspaper home delivery, take care of cutaways and link to The Lott. While those things remain useful and important, tech advances have made other facilities more interesting.
I read recently a news article claiming that around 30% of lottery sales were online. That number is wrong when you consider the FY2022/23 Annual Report from The Lott:
The Lottery Corporation’s digital reach
The Lottery Corporation continues to successfully grow its digital presence through the release of regular website and app enhancements, data-led personalisation, and dedicated marketing focus to maximise visibility and traffic. Our business adjusted for the return of pre-COVID purchasing behaviours which, as expected, had a greater impact on our Keno business than our Lotteries business (being more closely associated with in-venue play in pubs and clubs which were closed during COVID). Our digital channel is a growing and significant part of our business, accounting for 38.4% of Lotteries turnover and 13.9% of Keno turnover in FY23.
Their half year results released in February this year saw this grow.
1H24 also saw digital share growth resume (up 120bps to 39.6%) following a period of consolidation of COVID era gains.
It stands to reason that the number will be higher in the soon to be released FY2023/24 Annual Report.
The latest issue of Channel magazIne published by ALNA includes a four-page spread on Transforming Your Newsagency. I am grateful to ALNA for publishing my article. Click here for a copy of the article. I urge newsagents to read it as the article contains advice anyone can act on today without spending any money.
ABC News recently ran a story suggesting the future of the local Australian newsagency was in trouble because it had not kept up with the times. I know of many local Aussie newsagencies that have kept up and are more relevant today than any time in their past.
This video I made showcases a few of these awesome local businesses, shops that look nothing like the old Aussie Newsagency. I made it, and others to follow, to show that the local Aussie newsagency may not be what you think it is.
These newsagencies offer products outside of what the old Aussie newsagency carried. Gifts feature along with clothing, handbags, gourmet cooking items and more. These are businesses serving a diverse mix of shoppers – far away from lottery, newspaper and magazine customers.
Smart newsagents started transforming their businesses 20 years ago. Moving into gifts, homewares, toys and more – attracting new shoppers and selling products at margins four and five times more than newspapers.
The easiest local newsagency to transform today is one in a small country town. This setting presents opportunity, and I am glad to say that many newsagents have embraced it.
This is the story ABC News should be covering, a story of a channel navigating extraordinary change with plenty of local retailers, local newsagents, evolving their businesses to be relevant, vibrate and valuable.
We made the video because we know a picture is worth more than a thousand words. This video is worth thousands of words showing off transformed local Aussie newsagencies that aren’t newsagencies in the historic sense of that label.
While news outlets and suppliers consider newsagents a channel, newsagents are not a channel and have not been for many years. You can’t go into a newsagency expecting they will have what you want if your expectation is rooted in decades ago.
I don’t think the shingle matters. What matters is what shoppers feel when they enter a retail businesses. If they step into a shop that nurtures a feeling of comfort and happiness and offers them a treasure hunt retail experience they will tell others, and they will come back. The shingle above the door is irrelevant.
My Tower Systems business is a small business focussed POS software company developing, and supporting POS software for niche specialty retailers, like newsagents.
I am are grateful that Tower serves close to 1,800 newsagencies with our industry-standard newsagency software. This helps Mme do this advocacy work for our channel.
Some newsagents think adding gifts to their business is the solution to turning their business around, to making it more successful. Too many of these business owners are making mistakes in the gift category, mistakes that cost the business dearly.
Here are 5 common mistakes I have seen newsagents make with gifts:
Stocking products with a low price point. Many newsagents I have spoken with focus on gifts that cost no more than $50, some have a price cap of $20. By self-imposing a price cap you restrict what you can sell, you hold your business back from what it may be able to achieve. Time and again I have seen newsagents shocked at what they are able to sell when they offer items priced higher, even at $500 and more. Rarely when a newsagent says of a product it will never sell here are they right.
Buying what you like. You are not your customer, no matter how much you may think you are. The only way to find out if something sells is to try it. The only way to attract new shoppers is with products your business is not known for and you pitching these outside the business. You need to buy from non traditional channels, away from gift fairs, away from businesses like Market Hub.
Buying from suppliers who supply newsagents. Newsagent suppliers have a channel bias that focuses their attention on easy sales to the channel. Many of them like spinners or floor display units that come with a stock weight (volume) that is inappropriate for the retailer and that pitches products selfishly for the supplier and inappropriately for the retailer. A supplier who says they do not supply newsagents is more likely to offer product through which you can attract new shoppers and make better gross profit.
Buying from traditional suppliers. Like card companies selling gifts. It’s so 1980s, often late to the party product. Let the traditional suppliers stick to their traditional product. Be wary of products pitched as being successful in newsagencies.
Displaying products poorly. Retail today is about the treasure hunt, drawing a shopper in from the front door into the shop further and further. This is done with a through fully crated range displayed in edited displays. By this I mean displays with one or two of each item focussed on a theme and not a particular supplier. Suppliers, of course, want all their products together. For some products this makes sense. For most, though, it does not.
Being successful with gifts takes hard work every day. It’s uncomfortable work initially because you’ll be playing outside what you know. It’s important you do that as it is the only way to find a commercially successful path that works for you.
If your annual gift revenue is less than two times your total annual card revenue you’re not even close to what you can achieve with gifts. That’s a starting point benchmark I use.
If your average gift product price point is below $50.00, it is likely you are far from reaching your potential.
If you are buying from suppliers who focus primarily on newsagents, it is likely you are not reaching your potential.
Your success with gifts is 100% on you. It’s a category in your business over which you have complete control.
Reach out if you’d like help. mark@newsxpress.com.au.
Footnote: I know of some newsagents who hold back on what they do with gifts because of other retailers nearby. Your only obligation is to those who rely on your business to fund shelter and put food on the table. Even if you have a gift shop nearby, I guarantee you will have access to tens of thousands of gifts they do not stock. Don’t be limited by your shingle or a misplaced feeling for another local business. Put yourself first.
Maximising Magazine Sales Through Effective Merchandising
A well-executed magazine relay can significantly boost sales in a short timeframe. It delivers an excellent return on investment in my experience.
A few hours of dedicated effort results in a revenue boost, fresh social media content and more value. There Is no down side. Fundamentally, it drives increased sales.
The Mechanics of a Magazine Relay
A typical relay can be completed in two hours or less.
While it’s possible to delegate this task, taking ownership of the process is highly recommended. A hands-on approach reinforces your leadership and allows for a more streamlined operation without the complexities of team management. It’s essential to remember that a magazine relay is an ongoing process, not a one-off event. Regular adjustments to the magazine layout are crucial for maintaining sales momentum.
Optimising Magazine Placement
Ideally, magazines should be displayed on a dedicated wall space rather than occupying valuable centre fixture real estate typically reserved for higher-margin products.
The visual impact of magazine covers can be diluted by excessive clutter. To maximise their appeal, avoid using product headers.
Full facing, where 100% of the magazine cover is visible, generally delivers optimal results. This is particularly effective for smaller assortments of under 500 titles. For larger assortments, consider tiered fixtures with one title per pocket.However, in some cases, accommodating two or three low-volume, specialised titles within a single pocket can be beneficial.
Leveraging Beacon Branding
Highlighting specific magazine categories through beacon branding can effectively attract customer attention. Dedicate the top two or three pockets to a single title to create a visual focal point.
The Relay Process
When undertaking a magazine relay, focus on creating an engaging and visually appealing display. Work systematically,removing and rebuilding sections of the fixture while maintaining clear spaces to avoid confusion. Continuously assess your progress and consider how each placement contributes to the overall narrative.
The Art of Adjacency
Experimentation is key to discovering the most effective product adjacencies. While there are general guidelines, the ideal arrangement can vary depending on customer behaviour and preferences. For example, consider whether grouping titles by brand or by interest category drives better sales.
Some potential adjacency combinations include: cricket, golf, and swimming; wrestling, boxing, and fitness; and creative arts (painting, writing, craft). However, it’s essential to avoid mixing unrelated titles such as soccer and rugby.
Customer Considerations
When designing the magazine display, prioritise customer ease and comfort. Avoid placing titles aimed at older customers in difficult-to-reach locations.
Post-Relay Actions
Once the relay is complete, share your vision with the team and encourage feedback. Monitor customer behaviour and sales performance closely. The insights gained from these observations can inform future adjustments to the magazine layout.
By following these guidelines and maintaining a focus on customer needs, you can significantly enhance your magazine sales through effective merchandising.
Feedback from suppliers at the Melbourne Gift Fair over the weekend and yesterday, including from the team from my POS software company, is positive. In fact, more positive that many had expected.
Retailers have been spending at the trade show. Plenty are happy with business. I suspect this is a local small business thing. We are less likely to be surveyed by media. We’re not connected to major nosy retail groups.
The optimism has been across the mix of retailers at the fair: gift shops, jewellers, newsagents, garden centres, toy shops and more.
Hot topics on the trade show floor I’ve heard about include EFTPOS surcharges (whether to or not, how to and how mush), suppliers who sell direct to consumers (more seem to be doing it and some preference their direct sales over supporting retailers), imported vs. made in Australia (Australian made preference is strong) and delays from order to fulfilment (some suppliers ask for a deposit before they order manufacture of goods).
While I’ve not been able to make it myself, those I have heard from are happy with the the trade show. The big surprise for them was the optimism among retailers attending.
Footnote: it’s interesting that my POS software company was the only software company exhibiting at Reed.
My newsagency software company Tower Systems last year launched easyEDI, an absolute game-changer for sending invoices electronically.
Made for small suppliers, easyEDI set out to make creating electronic invoices easy and low cost.
Retailers love electronic invoices. They save time and money, and they help reduce data mistakes.
If faced with a choice, retailers will choose the supplier offering electronic invoices over the supplier of similar product who does not offer electronic invoices.
I mention it today since electronic invoices is a hot topic at the Melbourne Gift Fair this weekend.
easyEDI will create either a CSV file or a DD2 file, commonly used by newsagencies and card and gift stores. You can also link it with the popular Unleashed inventory management system we know plenty of suppliers use or supply your own product list so your files are even more useful by containing barcodes and/or RRP prices.
easyEDI costs $55 a month, which includes 500 invoices sent per month for no additional cost. Each invoice beyond 500 costs 12 cents.
There is no lock-in contract, you can cancel at any time.
Setup is easy for the supplier. easyEDI is a Xero approved integrated app.
Tower Systems first engaged in EDI (electronic data interchange) invoice creation by developing standards that were adopted for the Australian newsagency channel more than thirty-five years ago. Those standards formed the basis of file formats in use in the channel today.
While XchangeIT serves magazine suppliers and a some other suppliers, easyEDI is a lower cost and easier to implement solution. It’s made for small suppliers.
Suppliers and retailers using easyEDI today have taken the product beyond proof of concept and into the real world. It shows it as a reality, helping every day.
I’ll finish up with a pitch:
User-Friendly: We’ve designed easyEDI with simplicity in mind. You don’t need to be an EDI expert to use our platform effectively. Our intuitive interface guides you through the process seamlessly.
Efficiency: Save time and reduce manual data entry errors by automating your EDI file creation. Focus on growing your business while easyEDI takes care of the technicalities.
Compatibility: easyEDI seamlessly integrates with Xero, ensuring a smooth data flow between your financial and EDI systems.
Dedicated Support: Our customer support team is always ready to assist you. We provide ongoing assistance to ensure you get the most out of easyEDI.
Commando is a low volume magazine that is much-loved by those who read it. Once a fan knows you syopck it, they come back again, and again. This is something to love about Commando and the many other special interest titles.
While niche titles may be small in sales volume, the returning customer traffic assists in their efficiency. They are good titles, too, to pitch on social media.
It’s in this special interest space where our channel has growth opportunity. The challenge is the poor tech platform rom distributor Are Direct for growing in-store range of niche titles.
newsXpress is hosting a national conference next month and has set aside spaces for non newsXpress members to participate at no cost.
Here is the announcement I shared with newsXpress members:
newsXpressNationalConference. Melbourne, September 8, 9 & 10.
In the newsXpressmember community, I see a powerful force: a community of passionate small business owners. We may run different shops, cater to different customers, but we share a common ground – the drive to succeed, to build, and to serve our communities.
The world throws challenges our way, from economic shifts to ever-changing consumer trends. But here’s the secret weapon of small businesses: we are not alone. This conference is about the power of “Together We Can.”
We can share best practices, learn from each other’s triumphs (and maybe even a few stumbles!), and build a network of support that strengthens us all.
So, let’s use this conference to connect, collaborate, and unlock the incredible potential we have together. Together, we can navigate any challenge, seize every opportunity, and create a thriving future for our businesses and our communities.
Monday is a full business day, focussed on sharing insights on newsagency retail transformation and how to execute this on a limited budget.
We will look to 2025 and beyond and consider ways we can make our businesses more resilient and valuable.
We’ll talk through how we can better support each other.
And, we will consider how to navigate challenges faced baby legacy products.
This is a conference for retail newsagents, designed to offer support and encouragement, to help us all find an enjoyable path to the future.
Thants to supplier support and support from newsXpress itself, participation is free.
If you are interested, please email help@newsxpress.com.au.
At the we conference, we anticipate we will launch an exclusive for newsXpress members range of limited-edition products with a significant partner already delivering terrific traffic and sales for newsXpress members.
Here what to expect at the conference:
Networking. You’ll get to meet fellow newsXpress members. This is thebiggest value members tell us about conferences. Catching up with others in a relaxed environment. Sharing, learning, nurturing.
It’s a no pressure event.
You can provide feedback we use to shape what the group does and offers.
You will be presented actionable opportunities.
Have a laugh.
Challenged. Not openly, not in public. Listening to the sessions though some of what you currently do may be challenges, and that’s good because change is vital.
Energised. We’re sure you will come away with an action plan.
If you’re an introvert and are concerned that you’ll find it uncomfortable. Hang out with me, we can talk one on one, privately. There will be plenty of us introverts at theconference.
I am grateful to the 121 newsagents trading under a variety of shingles in rural, regional and suburban settings who provided data for this study. The only connection is that they use newsagency software from my POS software company.
Challenging start to 2024 for many newsagents.
The first six months of 2024 have been tough for the many newsagents. It has been especially tough for those who have not transitioned their businesses to rely less on core product categories like papers, magazines and lotteries.
Before I share the averages for the channel, here are results for the top 5 businesses in the benchmark data pool. This small group is made up of regional and suburban businesses. Three of these do not have lotteries, which I think is a factor in the management focus.
Revenue: Up by 12%.
Sales transaction count: Up 2%.
Basket value: Up 10%. This represents a shift in what people are buying.
Items per basket: Up 7%.
Average item value: Up 4%.
Greeting card revenue: Up 7%.
Magazines unit sales: Down 13%.
Newspaper unit sales: Down 9%.
Toy (incl. plush) revenue: Up 12%.
Gift revenue: Up 22%.
Homewares: Up 15%.
Fashion: 70%.
Stationery revenue: Up 3%.
Three of these businesses have an online presence with that contributing more than $1,000 a week in revenue.
Here are the averages for business performance measurement points and categories across the whole benchmark data pool:
Revenue: Down 3%.
Sales transaction count: Down 7%.
Basket value: Up 3%. This is an important number.
Items per basket: Flat. This is an important number.
Average item value: Up 2%. This is an important number.
Greeting card revenue: Down 1%
Magazines unit sales: Down 11%. This is an unfair measure because of the big difference between businesses, bigger than for any other category.
Newspaper unit sales: Down 10%.
Toy (incl. plush) revenue: Up 4%.
Gift revenue: Up 10%.
Stationery revenue: Down 5%. This is also an unfair measure because stationery now includes plenty of gifting items as it has changed.
The group of newsagents most at risk has not changed, it is those with minimal gift, toy and plush products, those not evolving fast enough.
Some traditional suppliers continue to let us down by not actively promoting our channel to attract new shoppers to us. Most newsagents attracting new shopper traffic are doing so on the back of their own local business efforts. Our suppliers need to serve us better.
If you want better results it is up to you to act.
There is no one size fits all solution, anyone who says there is is wrong.
The first step is to understand where you are at, from the data evidence in your business. next, you need a plan. Then, you execute with clarity and commitment, and draw on the support of others who have done this.
I own newsXpress, a marketing group supporting newsagents. newsXpress helps with this. If it interests you, please email help@newsxpress.com.au or call Michael Elvey on 0400 331 055 – he’s not a sales person, he’s part of the team nurturing success.
“A typical country town newsagency today should be making less than 10% of their turnover from print media products, 30% of revenue from lottery commission and 60% from gifts, homewares, books, toys and more. That is, 60% of revenue from items delivering 50% and more gross profit.”
Fletcher has long been a critic of the support newsagencies received from publishers over the years. But he notes it should not be the reason for a failing business.
“You can’t blame the decline in print for newsagencies closing. Newsagents make a paltry margin from print products. It’s disrespectful, and embarrassing how little we make. A business closing because of this is a business rooted in the past.
“Smart newsagents started transforming their businesses 20 years ago.”
Fletcher finished with a final blast for ABC News:
“If the folks at ABC News did even basic research about the future of Australian newsagencies they could have provided more accurate reporting on the state of newsagency businesses in Australia.
“Do better ABC News.”
I am thankful to get this support for the channel out there compared to the reported comments by Brendan Tohill from VANA. Sheesh.
Let’s take a moment to look at the performance of print media products in our shops and for our channel.
Newspapers.
Newsagents make between 10% and 12.5% of the cover price. For the Herald Sun Monday to Friday, that’s .375 cents a copy. @ 50 copies a day, that’s $18.75. Considering the weekend cover price and sales, a medium size newsagency, selling 50 copies of the title each day will make under $7,000 a year in gross profit. Labour cost for managing the title over the year in that size business will be at least $4,500 while retail space will cost at least $2,000 without considering a premium for better positioning in-store.
Newspapers remain inefficient products. Around 75% of newspaper purchases are a single newspaper. I know this because of basket analysis for hundreds of newsagencies over many years. No amount of in-store effort has been successful in changing the basket efficiency of newsagencies.
Magazines.
Newsagents make 25% of the cover price. Thanks to cover price suppression of major titles, in real terms we make less today than five years ago.
In an average size newsagency selling $80,000 worth of magazines a year, gross profit is $20,000.00. Labour cost for the year managing magazines is $12,000.00. That can balloon out if there in an increase in missed deliveries. Theft of magazines costs around $2,000 a year, which lands at net $1,500.00. (My understanding is that supermarkets do not cover the cost of magazine theft.) magazine space in this average newsagency costs around $15,000.00. This average newsagency is losing money on magazines.
Magazines are more efficient than newspapers with single product baskets accounting for only 40% of all baskets.
Traffic generators.
For more than five years, print media products have not been valuable traffic generators for newsagents. While for sure that are people buying the daily paper or their weekly magazines, those shoppers are not the valuable shoppers that make money for newsagents. Indeed, thanks to basket analysis and tracking loyalty offer engagement, magazines especially are the impulse purchase if a shopper has bonus loyalty dollars to spend.
Print media suppliers don’t understand.
Our print media suppliers have management practices that are out of date, rooted in the days when our channel was tightly regulated. These poor practices cost us money. They think their products drive valuable traffic for us. They don’t. They think they make good money for us. They don’t.
Print media does matter tho.
What we don’t know is the value of print media customers who, on other visits, purchase other items from our shops. There is anecdotal evidence, but nothing you could rely on in court. The may to make the category work is to tightly manage space and hope that suppliers lift their game and drag their data management processes into 2024.
Why plenty of newsagents are thriving.
Many newsagents have transitioned their businesses to sell high end gifts, sought after collectibles and other products people will drive and hour or two to source. We have newsagents doing well with books and others doing well with coffee. Many newsagents have websites that reach people way beyond their local area. Some, too, with websites that have nothing to do with their newsagency businesses.
The shingle.
While news outlets and suppliers consider us a channel, we’re not a channel and have not been for many years. You can’t go into a newsagency expecting they will have what you want if your expectation is rooted in decades ago.
I don’t think the shingle matters. What matters is what shoppers feel when they enter your businesses. If they step into a shop that nurtures a feeling of comfort and happiness and offers them a treasure hunt retail experience they will tell others, and they will come back. The shingle above the door is irrelevant.
This is what’s interesting abut plenty of newsagents today. They are retailers, not agents, not shopkeepers. This is what the poor reporting of the ABC neglected.
Here, again, are videos I have done with the owners of three newsagencies that are anything but traditional newsagency businesses. Each business is inspiring:
The Aussie newsagency has as bright a future as each newsagency business owner allows.
It’s a headline from ABC news today to get attention. The story fails to adequately report on the state of Australian newsagencies.
While there have been newsagency closures, the numbers are not huge, not as big as we have seen in some other retail channels.
The ABC News story fails to properly investigate why there have been closures. Instead, they publish the cliche of the decline in print media as the cause, which it is not.
The ABC News story quoted someone from IBISWorld and while he has some data that is interesting, numbers don’t tell the story. For example, he offered no number about newsagency businesses that have transitioned into other retail such that the newsagency part of the business is minor.
The ABC News story quoted Brendan Tohill, CEO of the National Lotteries Newsagents Association and Victorian Authorised Newsagents Association. I don’t consider Brendan to be in a position to offer insights – remember their News bar chocolate product launch last year that was going to bring people into shops?
Anyway, Brendan talked the channel down saying newsagencies are now a:
last-minute gift store underpinned by lotteries.
That’s what we are now. That’s what it is.
Shame on ABC News for running this quote. It plays into the narrative that our channel is not relevant and has not kept up. It’s an ignorant quote enemy opinion, something not supported by evidence from plenty of businesses in our channel.
I feel for the folks at Mansfield Newsagency. It was a nice shop in a beautiful country town with a population close to 5,000. The shop feels like it’s from the 1990s, not today.
As I have written here many times and in emails sent to all newsagents, I’ll help (for free) any newsagent keen to work on transitioning their business from relying on legacy product categories to attracting new shoppers through product categories not common to our channel and in pursuit of growing overall business grows profit and thereby offering insulation to the disruption of change.
I know of country town newsagencies near Mansfield and right around Australia that are thriving, growing. These businesses are not selling last-minute gifts. Some are selling fashion items for $300 apiece and more. Others are selling $500 homewares items. Some are doing $80,000 a year in the best coffee in town. Some are achieving 33% of revenue online selling to people interstate and overseas. Some are selling over $100,000 a year in collectibles.
I know of regional newsagencies doing $250,000 a year in gifts and more, achieving far more in gross profit each year than newspapers and magazines ever delivered combined.
A typical country town newsagency today should be making less than 10% of their turnover from print media products, 30% of revenue from lottery commission and 60% from gifts, homewares, books, toys and more. That is, 60% of revenue from items delivering 50% and more gross profit.
The difference between this type of transformed newsagency business and the traditional newsagency is decisions made by the business owners.
You can’t blame the decline in print for newsagencies closing. Newsagents make a paltry margin from print products. It’s disrespectful, and embarrassing how little we make. A business closing because of this is a business rooted in the past.
Smart newsagents started transforming their businesses 20 years ago. Moving into gifts, homewares, toys and more – attracting new shoppers and selling products at margins four and five times more than newspapers.
The easiest local newsagency to transform today is one in a small country town. This setting presents opportunity, and I am glad to say that many newsagents have embraced it.
This is the story ABC News should be covering, a story of a channel navigating extraordinary change with plenty of local retailers, local newsagents, evolving their businesses to be relevant, vibrate and valuable. It’s also a story that Brendan Tohill could have spoken to.
Here are three videos of discussions I have had in recent months with owners of newsagency businesses thriving:
Each of these business owners should feel proud of what they have done and are doing. Their playing outside the tradition of the Aussie newsagency is inspiring.
If the folks at ABC News did even basic research about the future of Australian newsagencies they could have provided more accurate reporting on the state of newsagency businesses in Australia.
Do better ABC News.
…
Footnote: If you see my earlier blog post from today about one of my own shops closing soon, the closure is because of my decision to focus on high street retail rather than shopping mall retail. My newsagency businesses are thriving outside the shopping mall setting and not renewing the lease allows us to lean further into that.
