Australian made is having a moment in the sunshine. Right now, people are seeking out Australian made products.

We can grow sales by promoting Australian made products. I have seen this first-hand in-store and even online. If you lead with the Australian made opportunity it can be easier to win a purchase of that ahead of similar non Australian made.

There are social media groups, local and national, dedicated to promoting businesses that support Australian made.

I think this is an opportunity for newsagents. It’s hard work though, much harder than buying in cheap China product and marking that up by 150%.

The Australian made shopper is more loyal in my experience.

If you want to engage with promoting Australian made, it starts with making sure you know the source of what you sell. This means asking suppliers and listening carefully to their answers.

You could test it out for yourself, focus on one supplier and even one line that you know is designed and 100% made in Australia. Promote it through that prism and cause shopper engagement. Use social media to explain your story, the research you did. Build trust.

If shoppers engage, respond well and spend, that could be the encouragement you need.

Australian made matters more today as a result of COVID-19 than it did before. It’s an opportunity for engaged retailers.

COVID-19 likes crowds, it likes people who don’t know each other to be physically close, not intimate, just close enough for the coronavirus to jump person to person.

Proximity is toxic and will remain so until there is a vaccine, if there is ever a vaccine.

Shops cannot be crowded, and if shops cannot be crowded, there is a risk more shoppers spend more money online.

This is why having an online strategy is critical. But it must be multi-faceted: delivery, click and collect, curbside pickup and curated for faster shopping. These options and more are critical for the new retail in this COVID world.

Online businesses need to be managed separately, with their own performance goals. They need to be focussed on reaching ne new shoppers for the parent business.

Proximity being toxic is also why having clear and well managed in-store strategies, too. Making shopping safe and to be seen to be safe is critical to encourage trust among shoppers and would-be shoppers.

It would be easy to say physical shopping is done and shopping has migrated to online. That is what many ‘experts’ are saying in articles. I don’t agree. I think local high street retail is in good shape where retailers have what people want, offer safe shopping experiences and are community connected.

Both needs are critical – online and refreshed in-store. It’s easy to think that the majors will win this. For sure, there will be media stories about this because the majors have PR offices placing stories. The reality is that innovation is as present in small business high street shops. Many of them have embraced online and recast their in-store experiences.

The retailers doing to best, in my view, are those that have embraced the new models in ways that feel natural, that feel more than short-term. These retailers have evolved their businesses with nuance.

So, while there is plenty of noise about things getting back to normal, they are not and cannot. The new normal, for the foreseeable future, is shops being structured for safe shopping and these businesses also offering a separate online presence to reach shoppers outside of the usual reach of the business.

Opportunities abound for engaged, data-driven, retailers.

It seems that the announcement of easing of some coronavirus related restrictions has given people permission to ignore social distancing. We have refreshed the signs and installed new floor markings yet people walk around as if social distancing is over. We ask for appropriate distance to be maintained and what’s the problem is a response or don’t you want my money.

I’ve heard about this from plenty of retailers over the last few days. Concern is heightened with staff often concerned for their own health.

I’d like to see clearer messaging from government, especially in the light of recent fresh outbreaks.

• A newsagent in Tasmania was told by their accountant that they would not qualify for a state government COVID-19 grant. On urging from others, they applied and now have the grant money in their account.
• Four newsagents in Victoria were told by their respective accountants that they would not qualify for the state government’s $10,000 COVID-19 grant. Thankfully, each followed advice from colleagues, applied and now have $10,000 in their bank account.
• Six newsagents I know, who do not know each other, were told by their respective accountants that they did not qualify for JobKeeper. On the advice of others, they applied and were accepted. 4 of the 6 have received their first payment.

These are examples of three types of government assistance where the advice of accountants was not right. There are plenty of other examples.

I feel for accountants. It has been challenging to be across the extraordinary changes over the last two months and to be across the extraordinary detail of some of the COVID-19 programs.

My advice to any small business retailer is to get a second opinion. If you are not sure, apply anyway and let the grant or payment provider determine your eligibility.

Just last week the ATO made it clear that in relation to JobKeeper the criteria is not black and white. The ATO has the right to look at a specific business situation with flexibility. There are examples of them doing that, especially where a business may not be at the 30% in revenue decline.

Please do NOT buy a Mother’s Day card at Coles or Woolworths. Instead, I urge Australians to shop small business, to buy your Mother’s Day card at your local card retailer. While I hope it is a newsagency, I’m encouraging your support of any local small business card retailer.

Coles and Woolworths have made billions in additional revenue from COVID-19. Let’s not give them extra money by buying a Mother’s Day card from either.

Local card retailers offer better, more personal service. They are more likely to support YOUR community. Thank you! #SmallBusiness #ShopLocal #MothersDay #SocialResponsibility

The hacking of Toll through a ransomware attack earlier in the week has disrupted deliveries from Tabcorp and other suppliers to newsagents with the company unable to fulfil many deliveries. From a Tabcorp perspective it happened in them middle of the busy Mother’s Day week and the company did not appear to have any contingency plan through which to support retailers.

With several state and territory governments starting to ease movement restrictions, people are talking more about life after lockdown, business owners are talking about this. If you have not done so already, I urge you to consider what your retail business looks like after lockdown or as lockdown provisions are eased.

While only you can know what is right for your own business, I offer this list of suggestions for your consideration:

1. Change everything. This is the best opportunity to make major change. Move whole departments, change prices, change the counter focus, the counter process. Right now is a perfect opportunity for sweeping change in any business.
2. Look at your pricing. Is it appropriate? Could adjustments be beneficial?
3. Look at every supplier. Ask yourself, do they bring value (and joy) to the business.
4. Make the shopping experience fresh, more appealing. Help your shoppers feel that they are in a new business.
5. Quit hard and quick. Dump bins at the front of products you are exiting. This is the perfect time to make the move.
6. Reconsider every business process. Is it beneficial to the business? If not, why continue with it? Be frugal with your time and capital investments.
7. Share appreciation. From your front window to inside the shop, demonstrate shopper appreciation.
8. Play uplifting music. Celebrate any step away from lockdown.
9. Celebrate stories. Encourage people to share positive lockdown stories, somehow in-store on online through social media.
10. The past is the past. It is tiresome hearing about how tough things have been, how troubling the times are, how difficult things are. People are living this. We are living this. Reminding people does not help in our view.

Now really is the opportunity for significant change in any business. Opportunities like this are rare. I urge all retailers to seize the opportunity.

I originally shared this with customers of my POS software company, Tower Systems, the list is as relevant here. I think being open all through matters not. The easing of restrictions itself will change the traffic you see and provide an opportunity to work through some or all of the list of suggestions.