I have been visiting US stationery retailers like Staples for years, most recently last week in New York. Staples stores I know well have less floor space allocated to stationery products today than at any time I can remember.
What was stationery space now hosts everyday grocery items one could purchase for office or home use. Toilet paper, paper towels, snacks, cleaning products and more are on the shelves and in the aisles.
There is also an increase in gift lines on offer.
I put the changes down to two factors: overall paper based stationery is flat or declining and more repeat purchases are being made online for convenience.
With the retail space to fill, it makes sense that Staples expands its everyday offer, especially in New York with a large residential population within walking distance.
I compared what I saw at Staples with my local Officeworks yesterday and I can see the trend here in Australia too. I suspect the reasons for the shift are the same.
All this makes me wonder what newsagents are doing about stationery? Is the floorspace and inventory investment the same and how do they compare with sales revenue?
In my own case, stationery revenue is up 33% year on year with no change to space allocation. Pens continue to be the most important stationery category accounting for 28% of sales and growing 21% year on year.
With a tight allocation of space for stationery I don’t feel pressured to reduce the allocation at the moment. Officeworks and Staples, with massive retail spaces to fill, will have to evolve their offers to appeal to more shoppers if they are to maintain revenue targets.