Yesterday’s news sells, especially if your customers know they can buy yesterday’s newspapers today from your newsagency.
My advice is don’t rush to top or return newspapers, hold off for a couple of days. While this is not practical at weekly returns cut off time, it is practical through the week up to then.
Promote that you have newspapers from yesterday, and earlier. Have them on display if you have the room.
Offering access to old newspapers can attract new shoppers, it certainly demonstrates you as offering a service your main competitors would not offer. This is why you should promote the service.
Home buyers, people looking for work, those who like the TV guide and others with special interests will be your target for promoting one and two day old newspapers. There is a market for these. No one is actively playing in this space. Here is your opportunity to be a specialist.
Yesterday in my newsagency, a customer told us they shop with us because we do have newspapers from a day or two earlier. Their buying cycle is such that they often cannot purchase the day a paper is published.
With next morning newspaper returns for UK newspaper retailer sadly this option is not open to them any more. Magazines are also received and returned on a 5 day a week basis.
While not big volume Steve, it is certainly an opportunity. I had two customers yesterday (Saturday) who purchased Friday newspapers.
Always sell Monday SMH up until Thursday for TV Guide, Tuesday SMH keep a few for customers who missed Good Living, Friday’s Illawarra Mercury sells Sat for racing, the Fin Review occasionally get requests for previous days and weekend papers always sell on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Weekend Papers usually still sell well on Monday. I usually grumble about the free papers but this week they were a good talking point as they had the local festival photos in it. We have regulars who take the bundles of old papers for mulching but yesterday all the free papers disappeared too. I was so cranky. Customer had asked Saturday morning staff where the free papers where and next thing we new they were all gone. It just goes to show you how someone could walk out with half your shop and if you are busy you won’t notice.