I am grateful to a colleague for pointing out an interesting story in USA Today about how commute times, workplace changes and other factors impact on our daily routines. While written from a US perspective, this store equally applies to Australia. Newsagencies are well placed to connect with changes in commute traffic given the hours we are open. The key is that we engage with the opportunity nationally. Read what the article says about Starbucks and Wendys for example. Could newsagents respond nationally in a similar way? We should.
The other aspect of this story is that these peak hour traffic trends will drive our suppliers – publishers mainly – to place product elsewhere, outside our channel. This, too, is something newsagents need to develop a response to.