Coles Supermarkets have allocated some space on their Easter card display for Mother’s Day cards in an interesting move. The photo is from my local Coles store from a week ago.
I suspect Coles buyers sought the inclusion of Mothers Day cards to try and drive return on floorspace for the floor fixture – since easter can be a soft season.
The announcement by US retailer Target last week re it giving up one third of the office space it leases in Minneapolis for its corporate headquarters. The move represents a long-term shift by a large employer to fundamentally change work arrangements for a sizeable portion of its workforce, around 3,000 people.
The Minneapolis StarTribune has the story.
Just how different the post-pandemic world of work will look came into greater focus on Thursday when Target Corp. announced that it will move out of City Center, a major downsizing that will reduce its office space in downtown Minneapolis by a third.
Target, the largest employer downtown, said it no longer needs the nearly 1 million square feet it occupies in that skyscraper as it plans for a hybrid future in which workers will combine remote and on-site work. It made the decision even with 10 more years left on its lease.
The company’s exit from City Center will leave a gaping hole, since it takes up about two-thirds of the 51-story tower. All of Target’s offices have been mostly empty in the past year as the company, like many, sent employees home to slow the spread of COVID-19. About 3,500 of Target’s 8,500 downtown Minneapolis employees worked in City Center before the pandemic.
Be sure to read the whole article.
This story supports what I have been saying since mid 2020. I don’t think office businesses will snap back to the way they were. I don’t think CBDs will have the focus they used to have. The world has changed.
I know Minneapolis well and lived there for a time 20 years ago. It is very much like Melbourne. The decision by Target is a loss for the city and a win for surrounding regions, especially smaller towns.
In my own software company, none of the two thirds of team members who started working from home during the pandemic will return to the office. We are not alone.
These changes benefit you.
Think about what you stock as your inventory mix is key to determining who shops your shop. Think about how you can pitch your business in this changed situation. I know of some newsagents who are well established in catering to this change, which is terrific news!
There was an interesting story in the Nine Media papers yesterday:
Lachlan Murdoch’s Fox Corp circles Tabcorp
The Murdoch family’s US media business Fox Corporation has been working with other investors on a potential bid for parts of ASX-listed gaming operator Tabcorp.The Los Angeles based company, which is run by billionaire media scion Lachlan Murdoch, has also registered a trademark for its betting arm FOXBet in Australia, in a sign the company is considering an assault on the local wagering industry.
Currently, there are 27,000 daily Google searches in Australia for Easter gifts and similar keywords. While it is too late for this year, newsagents selling online can do better in this season by tuning their online offer the be more seasonal.
Many of us have Easter gifts. Too few of us are pitching them online. None of us are in the top 100 results.
The Google searches indicate there are many on line ready to purchase. This is another example of how we can reach our local businesses beyond those who walk, ride and drive past our front door.
Online is where we have excellent opportunities for growing our businesses.
We launched Easter with in our high street business a month ago with this full-face pitch. It’s worked a treat, delivering strong sales.
Shoppers like to see the full front of each card. This has led to less touching, less stock damage. It has helped maintain an organised display.
The placement, just inside the front door, is encouraging engagement from some who many not have purchased an easter card or who may have purchased later in the season, and elsewhere.
While I don’t have proof, my feeling is that the tactical placement of this full face display is a key factor in Easter success already. We’re ahead on 2020, of course, and 2019, which was the goal … and we ten days out.
The Centenary of Rotary in Australia 2021 $1 Coloured Uncirculated Coin is a hit. Indeed, it is a sell out to the point that supply has fallen well short of demand, which is a good thing. It’s proving to be a terrific success. We managed limited supply by limiting how many each customer could purchase.
From The Royal Australian Mint, the coin has a mintage of 40,000 and is available in a limited mix of retailers.
What I like about this coin and other special interest coins from the Mint is that each launch introduces new collectors and they can be valuable customers to find.
The mint coin category can be worth $20,000 and more in a newsagency with capital investment in space and inventory modest. The key is social media engagement as that is how you find new shoppers.
Maybe Tabcorp, maybe another party, has been updating lottery retailer details in Google Maps, indicating TheLott as the business name and products sold, but including, often the newsagent phone number and open ing hours.
Here is one example of this, which I chose at random from many examples available:
I first heard about this happening from a newsagent who happened to be checking out their own Google listing. The found a TheLott listing instead.
Something is going on and I am not sure what.
My advice: search for your business in Google and check what comes up in the general search and in maps. You can change it by claiming ownership of the listing.
A$40 for a year long subscription is cheap by newspaper of record standards. These ads for The Washington Post are coming up regularly on social media in Australia.
Here’s the pricing for Guardian Australia:
And, here’s the pricing for The Age:
Last year, newsXpress ran a creative writing competition, overing two prizes of $1,000 each. Entrants could write in any form – short story, lyrics, poetry. The responses were terrific. The winners were announced last month.
I share the stories here to shine a light on this left-field and creative marketing from newsXpress and to show there are many ways we can engage with our channel and the role our sores play in local Australian communities.
Here is the winner for the under 17 category:
THE BACK DOOR. by Jayda Tram
Allison paced around the store, running her hand along the soft fur of the teddy bears, the glossy texture of the magazines, the thick wood of the shelves, and breathed in the strong newspaper scent. Kelly, her best friend, walked closely behind her, picking out pens and other knickknacks for herself. The newsXpress newsagency had just opened, and the two had decided to come and pay a visit, not exactly expecting it to be as enticing as it was.
“Allison, how much longer are we going to spend here?” Kelly frowned beneath her thick black bangs.
Allison pretended not to hear her the first time, but after a hard nudge she turned quickly and replied.
“Just wait, the shop is about to close soon anyways.”
Kelly huffed, but still continued to look down at the many shelves. They did another lap around the shop, just in case they missed something before the newsagency slowly emptied, and only they remained in the shop.
“Come on, we have to go now,” Kelly hissed to her friend.
Allison brushed her off and strode over to the cashier, who was a pretty brunette woman. Her eyes were a hazel colour that sparkled slightly, and she had amazingly high cheekbones. Her shiny nametag read Rylie. Allison dumped out everything in her full hands, from stationery to cards, magazines, mugs and a list of other novelties. The pretty cashier promptly scanned everything and then gave them back in a large paper bag. Kelly walked up and placed her items down on the counter, however Rylie didn’t seem to be paying attention anymore. She was in a trance, blinking rapidly into the distance after a loud noise caught her attention. Kelly and Allison exchanged a glance, but Rylie had already stopped, as if it never happened. The Back Door
“Sorry about that. If you wouldn’t mind, I have to go out to the back for a second,” she muttered quickly.
They both nodded and she turned and hurriedly walked to the back of the store. She fumbled with the keychain around her neck, and struggled to get the keys into the handle. Rylie zoomed behind the door in a flash, before either of the girls could see anything. They stared after her as they waited in silence.
“What do you think she’s doing?” Allison murmured.
“I don’t know. She’s taking so long,” Kelly scowled back.
“Should we go and call her?” Allison suggested feebly.
“No.”
Allison huffed and turned the other way, slowly counting the minutes.
“You know, maybe we should go and get her,” Kelly finally said softly, with red heating her cheeks.
Allison made no effort to reply, but instead, just walked down to the back. She turned the handle slightly, but didn’t open it.
“It’s unlocked, right?” Kelly buzzed.
“I assume so. Do we just go in now?”
Kelly nodded with her eyes as large as saucers. Allison swallowed, then slowly twisted her hand against the cold plastic until it clicked open, before pulling the door out… The Back Door
Instantly, a flash of light burst out and they both were thrown back aggressively. Blinded, they both shielded their eyes with a groan. Kelly was the one to open her eyes first, and a gasp escaped her mouth before she could loosen a breath.
“Allison, are you seeing this?” she breathed
Allison cried out, but turned over and slowly blinked. Her jaw dropped to the floor immediately.
Behind the door lay not a back room, but rather another world. Crystal skies with hues of pink and blue lay behind fluffy, angelic clouds. Grassy aqua hills stretched further than the eye could see, a forest of trees that were so lush and vibrant extended to the right, while waterfalls poured pure green water beneath flower fields of every colour on the left. A town was nearby, with small, but perfectly crafted wooden houses, decorated with lanterns, carvings and vines. Shops sold flowers, strange liquids, meats, lush greenery, odd house décor and delicate silk clothes. But the most notable thing were the people. They couldn’t be human; they were too perfect. All like Rylie, with their perfect faces and beautiful silky long hair, smooth skin and gracefulness. All behind the door.
“Oh. My. God,” Kelly cried.
“You’re telling me people work here know that this exists!” Allison exclaimed.
She stood up and immediately ran to the doorway, but shouted as she was thrown back by an invisible barrier. She rubbed her head in pain. Suddenly, smooth voices echoed and Rylie appeared, walking beside an ethereal looking woman with the longest black hair and midnight eyes. The girl suddenly looked up and stopped as she saw Kelly and Allison through the door. Rylie saw them, her eyes widening and without hesitation, ran to them and slammed the door. The light was blocked out, and everything around suddenly seemed dull and dark. Kelly and Allison stood silently, staring up at Rylie.
“What on earth?” Kelly blurted.
Her mouth was quickly covered before she could speak. She struggled to rip Rylie’s hands off as she thrashed. Allison ran to open the door again, but the second she touched the handle it glowed red hot and stung her hand. She jumped and went back over to Kelly.
“Is that real?” Allison screamed.
“That is a doorway to my world, which is very real. You guys-” she trailed off and went very red.
“No, this a newsagency.”
“Yes, but that’s a gateway. You know… just come with me.”
Rylie walked over to the doorway and flung it open without a breath, the light blinding once more. She stepped forward and ushered the two girls to come. Allison and Kelly exchanged a glance, but slowly stepped together. This time, there was no barrier, and they landed on the soft grass. With a gasp, they looked around. This couldn’t be real, it couldn’t… What a newsagency this was.
…..
Here is the winner for the open category:
Breaking News Agency
by Chris Van Ingen.
The smell of newsprint and poached eggs on toast
Remind me of my childhood the most.
Those weekend mornings where my Pa would sneak down to the newsagents
To get the paper to see who the hatches, matches, and dispatchers are.
Then as I grew up my Dad and Pa would send me to the newsagency in my wheelchair
For my first taste of independence from my disability.
I would drive straight to the martial arts magazines and dream of one day being on the front cover
So the bullies at school would stop being mean.
I would stare at the news headlines and hope
That I would be on the front page one day as a star
And people would marvel that someone with a disability had come so far.
I would go to my local newsagents and buy four copies for my family because they are just so proud of me.
The local newsagency has meant so much to me and the community
For some it keeps them in touch,
For me it brought me independence, and
Breaking News: Personal Agency.
I don’t care what anyone else things. This story in the Herald Sun about Victorian politician Lisa Neville is disgusting. But it’s on brand for the Murdoch press. Gutter stuff. Ms Neville is on mental health leave. The Murdoch family demands privacy for its own matters, especially health matters, and, then, this …
A Windows update pushed by Microsoft earlier this week is causing computers run by plenty of newsagent to crash. This is not a newsagency software problem. It is a Microsoft caused problem. If you are experiencing a computer shutting down unexpectedly it is likely to be this problem.
Here is how to back the Microsoft Windows update out of your computer.
Once the uninstall is finished you will need to restart the computer.
My advice is do this before calling anyone for support as their advice will be to do what is on the above list first.
I have heard from several newsagents over the last few days about situations where they say Tabcorp has ignored their objections to new outlets following my post recently about this topic.
One retailer told me that despite a comprehensive submission heavy with data, there was no inquiry from or discussion with Tabcorp about this, no interest in the detail.
Another newsagent told me they had been told by a Tabcorp representative that they would be contacted for discussion prior to a decision being made. This did not happen.
Another newsagent told me they objected immediately they were advised by Tabcorp only to see signage up for the new outlet, which had apparently not been approved, a week later.
Another newsagent told me they had arranged for mediation regarding their objection to a new outlet only to be advised that the new outlet had opened a day or so prior to the agreed formal mediation date.
There are plenty of other stories like this, demonstrating Tabcorp itself mocking its processes, delivering no transparency and disprtespective existing lottery retailers.
No wonder lottery retailers are stressed.
XchangeIT sent this fee increase notice to newsagents yesterday:
Dear Newsagents
There will be a slight increase to your XchangeIT fees with effect from 1st April 2021. This is the annual price increase planned for 1 July 2020 which we postponed due to COVID-19. It is now necessary to meet our ongoing costs.
Discounted Membership
As most of you are on this Discounted Membership, where the term begins on or after 1st April 2021, your next renewal invoice will increase from $250 to $255 including GST.
Base Rate Membership
For those of you on this Base Rate Membership, where the term begins on or after 1st April 2021, your next renewal invoice will increase from $535 to $540 including GST.
Benefits of XchangeIT
In FY2021 and FY2022, XchangeIT will continue to work hard to provide the best service for our members to bring operational efficiencies and to work on initiatives to ensure the newsagents industry remains competitive in the future.
- We will continue to help stores improve their performance measurement tests, with the aim of having as many stores as possible on the Ovato and IPS No Physical Returns programs, thus saving expensive freight and courier costs.
- We are working hard on the Tabcorp Terminal Connect Project, with several stores currently piloting this product. We will be providing more news in our March Newsletter re this product, so watch out for it in your inbox!
- We are currently organising National Newsagent Week 2021, with the aim of more consumers visiting your store with a positive impact on your revenue.
- We have increased the number of suppliers using the platform by adding Radicool Australia last month. We would like to add more suppliers in the coming year, thus saving you time and money by receiving electronic invoices which automatically update your POS.
If you wish to discuss any of the above, please call us on 1300 551 212.
Thank you
The XchangeIT Team
I deal with a lot of retailers in 10+ retail channels and newsagents are the only ones I am aware of being charged for these services.
Given that XchangeIT is supplier owned and given that it is effectively a mandatory tool of being a newsagent with magazines, I’d like the company levying the fees to make its financial statements available to newsagents for scrutiny.
Looking at 27 sales transacted Monday just gone, 18 Sunday and 23 Saturday and comparing basket value, more than 20% were above $100.00 but less than $120.00. I’d note that 5% were above $120.00. What is interesting to me s the amount over $100 they were. The average is $1.50 with plenty at $1.00 or less above and only a couple above $10.00.
What’s my point?
I’m glad you asked … The proximity to $100.00 is interesting to me as $100.00 is the free shipping trigger on the website. The close proximity to $100 for so many $100+ baskets indicates the considerable interest in attaining free shipping.
I see these purchases within, say, $5.00 of $100 as being by people shopping to get free shipping whereas I see the purchases at $130.00 and more as being more about what they want than the free shipping trigger.
This is on my mind today because the trigger point for free shipping is something newsagents in particular have challenges with as they move their businesses online.
In my case, I set it based on guiding shoppers to spend more than the average. This has to be a core principle of any loyalty program and, free shipping, after all, is a form of a loyalty program.
To newsagents struggling to determine their free shipping trigger point, I’d note – you can change it easily so … start somewhere, gather data and adjust once you know more.
I encourage newsagents to actively promote Easter cards on social media. With sales early this year, and strong, social media can play a role in encouraging purchases in this small but important card season for our businesses.
These are two of ten new social media content images provided to newsXpress members last week.
In case you missed it or had not been told by those you rely on for product trend advice, the fidget fad is back, and it is bigger than when it was last here.
Whereas a few years ago it was all about fidget spinners, this year, in 2021, the fidget fad is represented through terrific sales of a ton of products from plenty of suppliers.
We saw the strength of fidget products overseas from supplier presentations connected with the Toy fair in the US as well as the Toy Fair related content here in the last week.
It is also evident fro m social media posts from influencers and retailers in the US and UK.
The fidget fad is back and sales at the counter and front of store traffic locations are easy.
Newsagents can be toy shops at this opportunity.
I was at The Works (part of the Bed Bath and Table retail network) in Hawthorn the other day and already they have their Easter products at 25% off. While they do discount seasons, I don’t recall them discounting this early.
It could have to do with the amount of stock they have.
The displays were excellent, stunning, inspiring. But there was a ton of stock they need to move.
Tabcorp has been approving plenty of tobacco businesses as lottery outlets, providing foundational financial support for these tobacco businesses in regional and rural Australia.
The health and social harm of cigarettes is well documented. yet, here is Tabcorp, helping to support the reach of cigarette retailers. This is not the behaviour I’d expect from a company that says it cares for the community.
Tabcorp has a proud history of supporting our industry partners and the communities in which we live, work and play.
We have established key partnerships with a range of charitable organisations such as the Starlight Children’s Foundation, Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia, OzHarvest and Conservation Volunteers Australia, and also industry-linked charities such as the National Jockeys Trust and the Melbourne Racing Club Foundation.We engage with them to provide financial contributions and share our resources, networks, skills, expertise and people, to help improve the communities around us.
For the 2020 financial year, Tabcorp’s support to charities and community organisations totalled approximately $12.6 million. This voluntary support was provided through direct donations, unclaimed prize money donations, in-kind giving and forgone revenue, management costs and employee time. For further details regarding some of our recent partnerships and sponsorships see below.
Looking at some of the approved businesses, their model is tobacco and lotteries, with tobacco products discounted, and lotteries providing the commercial support necessary for the business to be viable and to have the capacity to sell cheap cigarettes.
What a health story Tabcorp!
Even the company’s position on the environment is compromised by their apparent love of cigarette shops becoming lottery retailers.
Tabcorp is committed to minimising its environmental impact.
Tabcorp is committed to minimising its environmental impact and operating as efficiently as possible. Our main focus is on reducing the consumption of natural resources to further minimise our environmental footprint.Due to the nature of our businesses, Tabcorp has a low environmental risk profile and footprint. Tabcorp is a low energy and water consumer, and is a low carbon emitter. Tabcorp does not meet any of the Federal Government’s thresholds for mandatory environmental reporting.
Refer to Tabcorp’s Corporate Responsibility Reports for details about Tabcorp’s environmental management activities.
Tabcorp’s website also speaks to workplace health and safety:
Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Tabcorp focuses on providing a safe working environment and promoting health and wellbeing in the workplace.
We are committed to high standards of health, safety and wellbeing for all employees, contractors and visitors.Tabcorp supports a number of employee health, safety and wellbeing initiatives, including:
- Jobs at Home Day
- Safety Week
- RU OK Day
- Men’s Health Week
- International Women’s Day
- Harmony Day
Yet, by approving cigarette shops to become lottery retailers in particular it challenges the health and wellbeing of the community in which it serves.
I get that Tabcorp will say that it is responding to applicants, retailers seeking to offer lottery products in existing business. Maybe so, however, there are situations where such applications have been made where the existing lottery retailer has capacity to grow sales and desire to grow sales, and Tabcorp has objected to the new retailer being approved. In these situations, it appears Tabcorp is favouring the cigarette retailer.
If I was a Tabcorp shareholder, this would concern me.
If I was running a charity receiving funds from Tabcorp, I’d be concerned about their apparent support for expanding the reach of cigarette retail in Australia.
These are matters relating to social responsibility, in addition to the core issue of placing local small business retailers that already sell lottery products under undue pressure through approving new outlets without evidence and to need.
Donna Janke picked up a beautiful bouquet of roses from the local newsagency, Paperplay Inverloch, for partner Marie Hogben, who sold flowers on behalf of Elsie’s Florist on Valentine’s Day. https://t.co/9QmGOBOCur
— Shelby Brooks (@shelbymbrooks) February 16, 2021
A newsagent recently became annoyed when one of the sales people from Tower Systems, the POS software company I own, said that Tower was not a good fit for them.
They wanted to switch to the Tower newsagency software and wanted a price deal, citing the price of other software. Rather than agree to match or come close to the price, the Tower sales person explained it was unreasonable to seek a price match for a very different product and a very different support experience. They wished the newsagent all the best and advised we were not a good fit.
The prospective customer pushed back saying they would only spend a certain amount of money. Not budging, the Tower sales person again wished them all the best.
This is when the newsagent got annoyed – that Tower was willingly walking away.
Ages ago I decided Tower would not chase prospective customers down a rabbit hole of discounting. No one wins from that, especially not a customer who wants their software company to evolve and support the software in a timely manner, especially not a newsagent who expects their software to connect to business partners.
This is on my mind today because of a product related discussion I had with another newsagent recently. They were chasing cheaper products with which to compete with a nearby discount variety store.
My view is that people who buy on price are not loyal. They will always chase price. If you meet them at the price point they have sought, you have not won because the price battle will come back at you again and again.
Being prepared to walk away when an opportunity is not a good fit for your business is liberating.
I want to be involved in businesses, tech and retail, that offer good value at a fair price. That leads me to an approach of wishing some people all the best and saying we are not right for them.
I don’t chase cheap products for my shops even thought we are near Aldi and the Reject Shop. I chase quality and value. Customers react by spending. The same is true with technology. I think one of the reasons Tower Systems serves more than 1,700 newsagents with its newsagency software is the focus on the product and service ahead of price.
It is liberating not sweating over every prospective customer. It’s also a key reason for growth in many business situations I think.
Easter is a perfect time to send a card to a friend, family member or loved-on, to remind them you think of them, love them and appreciate them.
While for many, Easter is a religious time of the year, for plenty it is more of a time for being close with those we care about. This is why an Easter card can serve a wonderful role in providing that hug for someone you may not see.
For the best range of Easter cards, shop your local newsagency. For fun Easter cards, shop your local newsagency. For spiritual and religious Easter cards, shop your local newsagency.
Yes, your local newsagency is the best place for Easter card shopping this year.
If you are not sure what you are looking for, ask for help. At your local newsagency you will find good and knowledgable help available. This is another reason shopping for Easter cards at your local newsagency makes sense.
From the funny to heartfelt to spiritual to family-centred, Easter cards at your local newsagency cover all sorts of situations and opportunities.
The right Easter card will be something they cherish, hang onto, and look at fondly years down the track. This is why card giving is so important – it’s not only about the greeting today, it is also about the wonderful memories you will encourage years later.
You can think of your Easter card as the hug that keeps on giving.
Just like people can spot flowers from a petrol station or no name brand chocolates from a $2 shop, people know good cards when they see them. They turn them over, learn more about the cards, where they were made. They can feel value. They can feel the quality they want to give through their keepsake card choice.
Your local newsagent appreciates your business. They appreciate that you have a choice as to where you purchase your Easter cards. They would love to help you share love this Easter with Easter cards purchased from their collection.
Easter is a perfect time of the year for letting others know how you feel and your local newsagent is the perfect retailer to help you do this.
A newsagent recently received a bill from Nine Media claiming a refund for papers not delivered going back eight years. Nine Media, and prior to them, Fairfax, had been paying for delivery that was not done. Many thousands of dollars involved.
Another newsagent was direct debited by News Corp twice for the same amount for the same product. Making the situation challenging is that there is no name on the communication from News Corp – making it hard to work out the contact point. News Corp, to their credit, organised a refund once the issue was escalated.
While each situation is different they speak to the same issue – apparent issues with internal billing / accounting systems at Nine Media and News Corp.
What these companies need to understand is the possible impact on a small business from such unexpected action by a big supplier. This is an issue of social responsibility. Big businesses owe it to the small businesses they supply to quickly and easily resolve issues such as these. In each of the situations outlined above it is not playing out this way – creating considerable stress for the newsagents involved.
Footnote: the newsagent impacted by the Nine Media move could have seen the situation and corrected it years earlier had they audited their home delivery revenue against actual deliveries – a highly recommended business practice.
The Melbourne Gift & Lifestyle Fair will be held 20 – 22 March, 2021, at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Registrations are now open.
This trade show presents opportunities retailers in the gift and homewares spaces have missed for the last year.
I like that this is a three day trade show. Three days is a good amount of time, not too long. Here are the times:
I like that retailers will have an opportunity for buying in a tactile environment and will be able to talk through questions around timing and logistics challenges.
This trade show has an opportunity to be a hit. I certainly plan to attend, along with plenty of other retailers I know who are keen.
Click here for a flyer about the event.
The Australian Finance Industry Association, AFIA, the organisation engaged in self regulation of buy now pay later platforms is set to go live with a code of practice for its providers from March 1. This, from their release:
AFIA and its BNPL members have come together and propose to release a Code of Practice for the BNPL sector. The final Code will be released and come into effect on 1 March 2021.
The BNPL providers, who under AFIA’s guidance have drafted the Code, represent over 95 percent of the BNPL market including Afterpay, Brighte, Humm Group, Klarna, Latitude, Openpay, Payright and Zip Co.
A world-first for the BNPL sector, the draft Code is in direct response to ASIC’s review of the BNPL sector (ASIC Report 600) and an inquiry conducted by the Senate Economics Reference Committee, which recommended the development of a BNPL Code of Practice.
AFIA conducted six-week public consultation which was formally extended until 6 May 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis. As part of the consultation process, it was important to give additional time to key stakeholders to provide feedback.
The Code of Practice will be governed by a Code Compliance Committee (CCC). The CCC is chaired by Dr Michael Schaper. Jillian Brewer has been nominated by the Consumers’ Federation of Australia as the consumer advocate representative. Craig Pudig is the CCC’s industry representative.
Part C of the code relates to retailers:
PART C – MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR OUR MERCHANT AND RETAIL PARTNERS
Each Code Compliant Member will require its merchant and retail partners to meet minimum standards. These standards are to:
- Act lawfully, fairly and ethically in their dealings with consumers;
- Communicate clearly when dealing with consumers and in marketing and advertising materialthat relates to Buy Now Pay Later Products or Services;
- Safeguard customer confidentiality;
- Respond to customer complaints on a timely basis; and
- Require that their employees or agents understand the standards and are trained to meet them.
Each Code Compliant Member will continue to monitor their merchant and retail partners to ensure they meet these minimum standards.
With many newsagents using buy now pay later for payment in-store an online, being across the code is important.
The half-year results from Tabcorp make interesting reading. Lottery retailers need to understand the results given that a core part of their business is reliant on revenue from Tabcorp products. Purchase through digital platforms grew by 20.9% over the previous period. This is excellent growth for Tabcorp.
Now, look at the percentage of lottery revenue from digital since 2016:
This is a graph from an investor advisory business.
The growth trajectory for the purchase of lottery products via digital platforms is set. Retailers need to take note, especially given the considerable capital and other assets Tabcorp requires them to invest.
Digital is growing faster than overall lottery revenue. Over the last six months, for example, lotteries revenue grew by 1.6% while the percentage of lotteries revenue purchased over digital platforms grew by 20.9%. That is the gap of concern for retailers.
If your shop is not experiencing a decline, others will be, they have to be on the Tabcorp results.
Personally, thinking of small business retailers, I would like to see Tabcorp reduce obligations on retailers in terms of the space in-store they demand, especially from entrance to the counter and at the counter itself. I would also reduce the visual noise from lottery products and free some of this space for retailers to be, hmm, retailers.
I would like to see Tabcorp enable retailers to make decisions that improve the viability of their businesses outside of lottery products. This could make the businesses stronger, which would be beneficial to Tabcorp.
I am not talking about tearing down signage or making retail lottery outlets look as dishevelled and inconsistent as what we see in the US. Rather, I am suggesting an easing of the space required in retail by Tabcorp and the barriers to other products being placed in the lotteries area. This could be done in a structured, co-operative way, a way that does not reduce lottery product sales in retail.
At the very least, Tabcorp could offer newsagents an easier retail model like they allow with On The Run.
Now, to those who will say here he goes, he hates Tabcorp blah, blah, blah. All very ho-hum. This post is acknowledging the evidence in Tabcorp’s numbers. If I had a product category in business over which I had control and which was experiencing this level of migration from over the counter to digital I would make a significant move to mitigate the impact of the trajectory before it actually cost me anything. That’s business.
Change is occurring. Smart retailers will move to minimise the impact on their business. Tabcorp is demonstrating its commercial preference.