The core of a good newsagency: magazines

This week I am looking five cores of today’s newsagency. I have selected five that relate to every retail newsagency, or should at least. Each core is important because of traffic and that mastering it defines our business in the eyes of these we serve.

Core #2: magazines

We are the magazine specialists and which this status comes at a high retail space, labour and opportunity cost, today it is a specialisation that is important to us.

Regardless of the unfair treatment of our channel by some publishers and distributors we need rise up and make the most of the magazine opportunity. It is a core category for which newsagents are known.

No, this does not mean no early returns or that magazines should be at the front of the shop. Here is what we must do as a minimum to respect magazines as a core activity:

1. Display by area of interest in a defined magazine department.
2. Use header cards or signage to make the shopping experience easier.
3. Where possible, use full face displays.
4. Ensure your staff have excellent product knowledge.
5. Offer a good putaways service.
6. Target special interest titles.
7. Offer a loyalty program
8. Relay magazines at least annually.
9. Promote magazines on social media – titles supermarkets do not carry.

Look at magazine placement and display and ensure you leverage this for other products, higher margin products. There is where there is value on the magazine category – leverage it through smart adjacencies and placement.

The purpose of this series is to remind newsagents what sits at the core of today’s newsagency business. And I am talking about today. Tomorrow may be different. What we need to do right now is manage for today to achieve the best we can with today’s traffic.

You don’t have to put posters out or do aisle end displays for magazines unless you are certain these activities drive sales in your business.

My own experience is that you can grow magazine sales by being tactical in-store … placing the right title with a kick-ass cover in a high traffic location.

I am not including tobacco and lotteries in this list as not every newsagency has these.