Considering the newspaper circulation data published last week and knowing the data newsagents gather, it would be easy to report on sales by title by day of week for any period and to break this down by newsagent, home delivery and sub retailer. For newsagent sales one could even report on down to quarter hour intervals. This type of paid copy sales data would have to be better than ‘circulation’. This data has been available for years. Around 50% of newsagents have a current industry approved computer system. In Victoria this is closer to 100%. The data is recorded according to industry agreed standards.
I use this data in my own newsagency to measure and grow newspaper sales. From a business perspective I can bank on paid sales whereas I cannot bank on promotional copies.