How to be the shop locals love in 2026, practical advice for Aussie newsagents

For decades, the Australian newsagency was the undisputed anchor of local commerce, fuelled by a government-protected monopoly on news and information. The deregulation of the 1990s and the digital revolution of the 2000s stripped away that “forced” relevance. Today, as we enter 2026, many newsagencies find themselves at a crossroads: remain an “average and forgettable” utility or evolve into a high-appeal community destination.

By moving beyond the traditional sales counter, newsagents can reclaim destination appeal, and deliver something others will struggle to match.

Retail newsagencies don’t have the must-visit appeal that they had in the 1970s and 1980s in Australia. Back theft, newsagencies were the shop folks would always visit when shopping. They were the only places where you could buy newspapers and magazines and that monopoly sat at the core of attracting shoppers. Back then, of course, newspapers provided access to news. Today, well, there are only so many Ha5vey Norman ads you can see before you are blind.

In the 1990s, as the monopoly newsagents had was ripped from them with oversight by the coalition government, the appeal of a visit to the newsagency, or newsagents as people usually called our shops, started to fade. The purpose of visiting became less clear.

Since our retail channel was not populated by many retailers, too many newsagents failed to act to maintain, and even grow, shopper visit appeal.

As 2026 opens up, I think Aussie newsagents should reconsider how to make their shop the shop locals love, the shop locals flock to for purpose.

Here are 10 ways I Aussie newsagents can make their shop the shop locals in town and nearby want to visit ahead of others. Do these things and they will nurture an appeal of your business that brings people through your front door.

1. Service above and beyond. Look carefully at your business, what it sells and the services it offers. Look for an easily managed free value-add that differentiates your business. For example, if you sell gifts, cards and wrapping paper, offer to wrap the gift. For card shoppers, offer to handwrite the card, or sell stamps and offer to post the card.
2. Setup a noticeboard for local news and community information. Include on this a list of local community groups, a list of local charities you recommend, local sights you recommend visitors visit. Curate the noticeboard so it is easy to read and organised, to be more useful.
3. Create a calendar and host local events. Look at local community groups and clubs that are relevant to your business and offer space for them to host events in or in front of your shop.
4. Create a by locals for locals area. here, place locally sourced products. By shining a light on local makers they will, hopefully, promote your shop as a go to place. Also, invite the local makers in to demonstrate their products or talk about them.
5. Make your shop entertaining, relaxing and fun. Make your shop a space people love and enjoy. Give them somewhere to sit and chat, to be local with locals.  The more relaxing and enjoyable your space the longer people will stay.
6. Help people interact locally. Run competitions and / or events that connect locally. Host a local stories competition where local writers submit locally themed short stories or a local sights art competition where local artists submit art representing local sights or host a local poets afternoon where local poets can share their work. The point is to offer sp[ace for locals to be seen, and heard.
7. Create a local loop card. Collaborate with 3-4 nearby locally owned and run shops. If a customer visits all of you in one week and gets a stamp, they unlock a “Secret Menu” item or a specific discount at your shop.
8. Run a reverse loyalty program. Offer a discount if a customer shows a receipt from another local business from that same day.
9. Change your front window regularly. You want your front window display to be the best display in town. Make it engaging, unique, fun, memorable. One way to do this is to use it to shine a light on others: art from a local school class, for example.
10. Have the best. The best music, the best scent, the happiest people. Make these choices for the best everyday shopping experience other retailers aspire to offer. Consistency pays off.

None of these ideas are, of themselves, ground breaking. Do four or five, consistently and well and you then have an approach that has you standing out.

It may feel like you are doing work for no reward. It will take time. You need to be consistent in your approach.

If you do none of this and run a regular shop with no specific local focus, your business will be seen as other businesses, average, forgettable. There Is no future in that.

The future of your Australian newsagency is tied to the strength of the local handshake.

Success for a local Aussie newsagency business in 2026 requires a deliberate move away from the “average” to the “exceptional”, transforming your floor space into a vibrant, living ecosystem where locals feel seen, heard, and valued.

By consistently blending high-touch service with community-focused innovation, you show your business as vital for your town.

The choice is simple: remain a relic of the past, or become the destination the community chooses for its future.

Footnote: it would be so easy to ignore this, to think it’s like what I have written before – that you didn’t act on and you still have a business. fair enough. Let’s check in in 5 years and see how your business is groin. Sometimes, a mortal wound is not noticed until it is too late. Don’t let that be your business.

Use the ideas I have shred here to help you develop your own.

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Mark Fletcher founded newsagency software company Tower Systems and is the CEO of newsXpress, a marketing group serving innovative newsagents who continuously evolve their businesses to be enjoyable, relevant and successful. You can reach him on mark@newsxpress.com.au or 0418 321 338.