A blog on issues affecting Australia's newsagents, media and small business generally. More ...

Author: Mark Fletcher

Is there too much visual merchandising in your newsagency?

I was talking with a newsagent yesterday who was complaining that their customers don’t notice their displays and the items they have on special.  Their view was what the customer was to blame.

I asked whether the business itself was to blame.  Were there too many displays?  Were the displays close together?  Were displays left up for too long?  What else was competing for attention with the displays.

If customers are not noticing your displays it is likely that the problem lies with the business and not the customer.  Observe customers as they enter and browse the store.

  • Where do their eyes look at what are they drawn to?
  • Is their destination diverted in any way?
  • Do they notice displays?
  • What do they pass by?
  • What products do they browse and for how long?
  • Where do they move to next?
  • What is the success of major displays in driving incremental sales?

Answer these questions and you start to develop a feeling for the effectiveness of the visual noise in the store.

Sometimes in retail less is more.  I saw an excellent example of this in one of my shops last week.  We decided to quit a line of products and move them to another store.  The smaller stock had been taken down and a customer noticed the two larger items remaining and purchased botch at close to $90.00 each.  They thought we had just got them in.  In fact, they had been on the shelves for more than six months.

Customers tell us a lot by their actions.  I take their lack of attention to a display to be a message to the business to fix it rather than a fault on the part of my customers.

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Newsagency challenges

Promoting the OzLotto $40 million jackpot

40mil.JPGOur team at newsXpress Forest Hill put together a terrific display promoting the OzLotto $40 million jackpot this week.  It starts at the front of the store and reaches deep inside, almost to the back room.  Every shopper passes a promotion point or two and then at the counter they are offered a ticket.  The team has every reason to be very proud of their efforts.

This display, coupled with the great range of syndicates and the counter offer make selling an Oz ticket a nice shopping basket extension.

The Oz jackpot has hit at a good time, in the winter retail soft spot.

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Lotteries

Ads cover the newspaper masthead

age_jun182010.JPGThe Subaru ad stuck on the front page of The Age newspaper yesterday damaged the product in my view.  One some copies, the work Age was almost covered.  On other copies the ad covered promotion of the coverage of the World Cup in the newspaper.

Why a newspaper publisher would be happy to be paid to cover up their brand or editorial content on the front page is beyond me.  But what do I know?

With the challenges newspapers face today it does not make sense that a publisher would be happy to disprespect their brand in this way.

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newspaper masthead desecration

59 million tablet computers

Forrester Research is predicting that there will be 59 million tablets, like the iPad, in the US by 2015.  Now that is that you call a distribution channel.

I am often asked by newsagents about the role they can play in the iPad space, selling devices and selling apps.

The only role for newsagents is in selling iTunes cards and mobile phone recharge for the 3G devices.  This is why I bang on here so much about the technology.  We have to understand the implications so that we can build our own solutions.

I think this number will be proven to be low given the extraordinary early sales of the iPad and the everyday affordability of these devices over the next four years.  Think about what happened with the iPod and similar devices.

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Media disruption

iPads now flowing more freely in Australia

The 3G enabled iPad I have had on order for so long is in stock and being picked up this morning. One retailer told me that the supply block has been significantly relieved this week.

I will be keeping the 3G device I will keep for myself.  The WiFi unit I got last week is for use by the Tower Systems Point of Sale sales team, demonstrating to newsagents.

Travelling with the iPad has been interesting this week, plenty of people, older businessmen mainly, came up to me asking about the device.   In Perth yesterday I shut the iPad down because of the interruptions.

A week on, I am more convinced than ever than this device has set the scene for a revolution the extent of which we can barely grasp today.

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Media disruption

Good Food magazine blocks browsers

good-food-bagged.JPGNewsagency shoppers love to browse food titles.  Sometimes they are looking for inspiration while other times they are comparing titles before making a purchase decision.  Stand in any newsagency watching browsers of food titles and you will see this, right across the country.

I am surprised, therefore, that ACP appears committed to keeping Good Food bagged and unable to be browsed.  It’s a good title with plenty of compelling photos.  I expect sales would be better if it could be browsed like almost all other food titles.

The bagging of the magazine to hold the free gift they include each month seems hardly worth it since the gifts are usually small cookbooks – smaller than similar ‘gifts’ stuck to many other magazines.

Check out the food magazine section in any newsagency and see how many titles are bagged and how many are not.  Of the top ten local food titles today, only Good Food is bagged and I expect this to be hurting sales.

I acknowledge that browsing is not important in all magazine sales situations, trasit for example.  It is in newsagencies.

Now before anyone at ACP groans about this blog post, I want what you want, more sales.

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magazines

Promoting Women’s Health and related titles

womens-health-june2010.JPGIn addition to our counter display promoting Women’s Health, we are also promoting the title in our main women’s magazine aisle.

As the photo shows, we are not only promoting Women’s Health but also using it to promote other well known brands around the title.  This gives us more value from the space allocation.  Yes we want to sell Women’s Health – our ideal is that we sell at least one more title from the category with it.

This display will be in place for at least a week and probably two.

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magazines

Newsagency of the Future workshops next week

The Newsagency of the Future workshops have kicked off well this week with sessions in Melbourne and Adelaide already. Perth is later this morning. As with such sessions, they evolve over time. Already there has been excellent discussion around best practice for today, plans for the next 1 to 3 years and plans beyond 3 years. The Apple iPad I am showing off is giving newsagents a flavour of what the device can do and open some eyes.

Next week we are in Sydney, Canberra and Hobart. If you would like to attend the free workshop, please click here. Click here to download a flyer for the event.  Anyone is welcome.

My goal with these sessions is to get newsagents thinking and talking about their future and to accept some responsibility for where they will end up in a few years time.

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newsagency of the future

Why so much extra gameinformer stock?

gameinformer-june10.JPGNewsagents should check their supply of gameinformer magazine. Yesterday, we received 10 copies. The last issue we received 4 and returned 4. The issue before that we received 8 and returned 5 and the one before that we received 8 and returned 6. I can see no justification in our sales numbers for Network services to increase our supply by 100%, I doubt that even an amazing promotion would lift our sales by 100%.

Publishers reading this blog need to understand that every additional copy sent to newsagents which does not sell has a cash flow cost to our business.  Retail real estate and labour account for between 21% and 24% of revenue in shopping centre newsagencies.

Come the 20th of the month Network will be chasing payment yet when if we try and use the regular processes they have established for newsagent communication they will not be as attentive.

With magazine sales down significantly on last year and 2009 down even more on 2008, magazine distributors and magazine publishers have an obligation to stop sucking cash out of our businesses with poor supply decisions.

Sit in the office of the accounts office of any magazine distributor in the last week of any month and you will soon realise how serious cash flow relating to magazines has become for newsagents.  They don’t care, all they want is their cash.  They accept no responsibility for creating the cash flow problem.

I has data from several newsagents for April showing that they paid some distributors more than the money they took through the register for their titles.  This happens because of a failing supply model.  Yet the accounts people do not get it, yes, all they want is their cash.

This is a crisis no one seems prepared to address.

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magazine distribution

Promoting Diabetic Living magazine at the counter

diabetic-living-jun10.JPGWith space tight for displays we have taken a more tactical approach with Diabetic Living which went on sale yesterday, placing it at the counter, next to Women’s Health. We also have two pockets above women’s weeklies titles and a half waterfall in the health section. Based on past experience, I expect the counter unit to perform well.

Sometimes with magazines a small tactical approach is far more valuable than a big bold display.

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magazines

Promoting Street Machine magazine

street-machine-jun10b.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of Street Machine magazine in its regular location in our auto title section. We have given the display plenty of space (double the usual space allocation) by trimming back space for other titles. Our plan is to leave this display in place for at least the next week. While the publisher may prefer a higher profile location for promoting the title, our experience is that car titles promoted this way in the men’s magazine aisle do better than if they are promoted in a higher traffic location elsewhere in the store.  Guys are store blind until they get to their aisle.

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magazines

Newsagents should offer free WiFi

Newsagents wanting to connect with the iPad opportunity as well as the many devices following in its footsteps ought to establish free WiFi access.

Getting newsagencies across Australia known for providing free WiFi could at least attract some foot traffic.  While they may not arrive as customers, a good retailer could convert some to spend in the business.

We first trialled free WiFi in my newsagency in January 2007.  While the trial went okay, I knew that for the idea to really work we would need a national network of newsagents offering the same service.

Free WiFi access across a common branded network of stores would get them into people consciousness and make them sought out.  This is an opportunity for newsagents.

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Media disruption

Magazine publishers damage brands with poor gift execution

mag-inserts.JPGACP Magazines and Pacific Magazines have experienced missteps in the last couple of weeks with gifts being poorly attached to the magazines they were designed to promote.  Pacific’s Girlfriend magazine looked damaged in retail shelves when the card carrying the free ring fell from the pages of the magazine.  Likewise, the free watch with the latest issue of Dolly is too heavy for the glue used and some are falling out magazines on the shelves.

Production teams at publishers need to ensure that any gift attached to the magazine enhances the offer rather than detracting from it.

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magazines

News Corp. acquires new platform

News Corp. has announced  its  acquisition of Skiff e-reader distribution platform from Hearst.  This is a strategic move for the company and better positions it to leverage sales of content to the rapidly growing e-reader community.  The company also announced an investment in Journalism Online, a business which makes it easier for publishers to monetise content online.

So, media becomes like fast food – people will consume it on the go, watching news, sport  and film … on wireless devices. Rupert Murdoch speaking at a conference in London in March 2006.

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Media disruption

Promoting the Ethical Supermarket Shopping Guide

ethical-shopping.JPGWith 50% of the Ethical Supermarket Shopping Guide sold from our counter location we wanted to move it to try a fresh location.  So, we created a display placing the stock on a air stand which sits next to Shop Til You Drop.  This is a bit of ‘found’ space, created out of thin air.  We plan keep the display in place for a couple of weeks.

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magazines

40 million reasons to be happy

Newsagents and lottery retailers will be happy that OzLotto jackpotted tonight.  Having a $40 million first division prize to sell in Winter and between major retail seasons will deliver a traffic and basket building fillip to our businesses.

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Lotteries

The Apple iPad changes the game

ipad-abc.JPGWhile I am only a few days into my Apple iPad journey, I have experienced enough to know that this device signals a the most significant change in decades in how news, information and entertainment is accessed.

The experience is intoxicating – multiple sources and mediums (text, audio and video) at your fingertips .

I don’t have a lot of time to read newspapers or magazines cover to cover but I will dive in and read a story which interests me.  The iPad is made for this.  That I can do this wherever and whenever I want without having to go to a store is what excites me the most.

Newspaper and magazine publishers who say that print is their focus and that the iPad channel is about new customers are either lying, kidding themselves or have not swum with an iPad.

It is quick and easy to get a broader perspective on a story, far easier the buying multiple newspapers or visiting a bunch of websites.  In seconds I can jump from The Australian to the BBC to a US news outlet.

Eyewitness from the Guardian is an amazing app which lives up to their pitch.  It delivers a daily visual reflection of global events.  Amazing photos which provide a deeper perspective on stories such as the oil disaster off the coast of the US.

I love the ABC app, especially their news in 90 seconds.  It is easier to access than the news headlines service on Sky News on Foxtel.

The Australian app is okay as a newspaper on the iPad.  Smart publishers will break free from the constraints of being a newspaper.  This is where the iPad really becomes a game changer.

Magazines are priced too high and if current pricing prevails I expect uptake, after the initial excitement, will slow.  I think that News Limited has got it about right for their pricing for The Australian – $4.99 for a month seems okay to me.

I am aware that this is only version 1 of the iPad and that Apple is expected to announce more innovation later this year.  Enhancements to the iPad family and the new devices from other companies will push this channel into the hands of many who buy newspapers and magazines today.

Is it the end of the Australian newsagency?  No.  But that’s a blog post for another day. For newspapers though it is a different story the iPad is tolling a bell.

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magazines

Strong support for Good Food magazine

good-food-jun10a.JPGThe latest issue of Good Food magazine is being promoted at the entrance to our main magazine aisle.

We have the display running on three sides of the stand you can see in the photo – giving the title plenty of support.  We also have a pocket located in with our weeklies as well as a display in with food titles.

We have modified the type of display we do on the merchandise unit.  Now, we have fewer pockets of store.  This allows is to have tow posters on display.  We have done this for the last two magazines we promoted and they performed very well from this stand – Good Health last week especially.

Our current plan is to lead Good Food up for a week.

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magazines

Promoting InStyle magazine

instyle-june2010.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of InStyle magazine with a high profile in-location display in among fashion titles.  This display can be seen by all customers visiting our main magazine aisle including those stopping for the high volume weekly titles at tthe entrance to the aisle.

we will leave this display up for two weeks.  The sales decay rate for InStyle indicates that we can expect the display to drive good sales well into the second week whereas many monthlies see sales fade by then.

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magazines

Build the Endeavour at newsagents now

build-endeavour.JPGWe are promoting the new Build the Endeavour partwork at the front of my newsagencies.  We want to connect with the TV campaign for this series.    I like that they have supplied the How To DVD separately from part 1 – we don’t mind keeping it behind the counter to give to customers.

2010 has been a rough year for partworks.  Maybe Build the Endeavour will break that.

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magazines

Promoting the free fat loss guide with Women’s Health

womens-health-jun2010.JPGWe are promoting the latest issue of Women’s Health at the counter since it comes with a free weight loss guide.  We also have a terrific display for Women’s Health in with our other women’s health and fitness titles.  We plan to leave the counter display in place for the rest of the week.  Women’s Health is a title for which we have seen good impulse purchase business.  Given the cost of the premium counter space, we like to keep it for titles which will deliver.

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magazines

A late World Cup title

world-cup-title.JPGI was surprised to see Daily Express World Cup 2010 arrive with the magazines this morning.  With the first games already over, it is late.  It will be interesting to see if it sells.  I’d much prefer to have had this title on the shelves a month ago, before sales of World Cup titles peaked.  We will give the title a go by placing it in our World Cup display out the front of the newsagency.

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magazine distribution
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