A newsagent colleague once said to me that they never give cards and don’t understand people who do.
It was funny at the time. Then, their card sales were falling and they had one less reference point for understanding why.
To me, a test of the card range I have in-store is how many cards I would happily purchase from my business. While there are, for sure, occasions when I will want a niche card that I am unlikely to stock, for everyday type purposes I should be able to buy from myself.
Of course, it starts with being a card giver. Be this person and shop in your own shop and it will influence decisions you make about your card range. My advice now to any newsagent who says to me that they are not a card giver is that they are missing out on valuable consumer research.
I guarantee that if you start buying cards from yourself and actually sending them you will seek to drive changes in your card range. This is good for your business as it engages you in card range decisions. Often, newsagents do not have themselves situated in this role.
It’s your retail space. You pay for the inventory. You bank the results of sales. It makes sense that you are in the driver’s seat for the best margin product category you have in the shop.
This past weekend I wanted a thank you card. I needed something that set a specific tone. I found the perfect card. The search revealed some changes that could broaden the reach of what we have. While I may have noticed the need had I been looking to buy a card, I suspect it is that I was looking as a customer that helped me see more.
if you are not a card giver, be a card giver and be open for what you learn from the experience.