The changes in magazine distribution from Monday, wednesday and Friday to Monday and Thursday are certain to change shopper traffic flow to newsagencies as many regular magazine shoppers are creatures of habit. It’s important we spot changing trends in our businesses early. For this, the best report is one listing sales by day of week.
Newsagents software should be able to report on at least eight weeks of sales on a page, making comparison easier. While I have started doing this in my stores, I am mindful of the impact of the our of sequence publishing of the royal baby issues.
In looking at day of week analysis newsagents need to look carefully at Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as I think these are the days on which we are most likely to measure an impact of the magazine distribution changes.
As I noted last week, I am seeing early evidence that suburban high street newsagents are losing some sales which capital city shopping centre newsagents could be beneficiaries.
Regardless of your situation, tracking sales by day of week and comparing reasonable periods can unlock a better understanding of what is happening in your business and open your eyes to trends you can leverage.