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

Why Afterpay is rejecting newsagents as merchants

Plenty of newsagents who have applied to to offer Afterpay in their businesses have been rejected early in the application process.

Afterpay is rejecting these businesses on the basis they sell three product categories that are not permitted under its terms: gambling, tobacco and porn.

While I have made representations on the rejections of which I am aware and explained how problematic products can be fenced off from being paid for through Afterpay, the rejection remains on foot.

The terms established by Afterpay reflect their own business terms and, I suspect, terms imposed by financiers and others with a stake in the Afterpay business. Others in this lending space have similar terms.

Newsagency businesses that are not agents and not convenience focussed have a better chance of overcoming the Afterpay ban.

This all matters because of the commercial value to retailers on the buy now pay later model. Through my work with newsxpress I see plenty of business being won by newsXpress members selling items,ms today that shoppers will pay for over time. This is business that would have gone to other retailers.

There are stores winning click and collect business from shoppers repaired to drive an hour or so to pick up something paid for through Oxipay (like Afterpay), which they could have bought locally but COD or on LayBy.

Once a purchase decision has been made people often want the item(s) immediately.  Hence the value of offering this buy now take it now pay later service. This is why the Afterpay rejection needs work.

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Ethics

Politicians in Australia to small business retailers: don’t do as I do, do as I say

The federal parliamentarian dual citizenship mess in which we have found ourselves here in Australia for months now shows how politicians treat themselves as elite, special, compared to common folk, the voters who vote them in.

While we in small business are highly regulated, subject to audit and penalised for even simple honest oversight, politicians refuse to permit themselves to be subject to the same.

While individuals are highly regulated, subject to audit and penalised for even simple honest oversight, politicians refuse to permit themselves to be subject to the same.

The moment the first dual citizenship question was raised, an ethical leader keen for democracy would have ordered an immediate full audit of the status of all politicians.

We are bereft of leadership for everyday Australians in Australia.

For months major party politicians have spun their wheels on the issue of dual citizenship and refused to agree to the type of audit that is regular for us in small business. For months they have said politicians should self regulate on this issue while at the same time imposing challenging and enforced regulation on small businesses and on individuals.

Shame on us for allowing your politicians to get away with them setting a standard for their own behaviour that is lower than standards they vote to impose on regular people.

The one party that has provided leadership on this issue is the Greens. From the outset they called for an audit. The are right. Yet their call has been mocked, especially by the government side of the parliament. This side of the parliament that is in control, in leadership, has eschewed leadership and instead engaged in puerile games.

They must think we are fools.

There ought be an audit of all federal politicians immediately, no matter the disruption or the cost.

Section 44 of the Constitution is not new. Its provision have been known for decades. It is easy for anyone to determine their status. Whether they do this comes down to how they see themselves compared to how they see the peril they serve.

We the people deserve honest leadership, leadership that is transparent and for all people, leadership that submits itself to the same standards and level of regulation as they impose on those they serve. We do not have this in Australia at the moment.

Every day, we see small business retailers squeezed by regulation, while at the same time, right now, seeing politicians refuse even basic regulation. This double standard has to stop, for the good of our country and democracy.

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Ethics

Are you paying family members properly?

I received a call from the child of a newsagency owner recently wanting to know how to handle them not being paid appropriately.

Their parents pay them in cash for a full time role. No tax. No super. No leave entitlements.

While this seemed like a good idea at the time, now that they are considering a home loan they have no employment records on which to base the application.

Family members who are not shareholders need to be paid according to the award, m accurately and on the books.

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Newsagency management

Pitching cards on social media

We love the reaction to this social media post pitching a card. It’s the type of post I was referring to when I wrote abut Facebook recently. It connects emotionally with Facebook users.

The more we pitch our businesses with a look that is unexpected for a newsagency the more people will not identify use as a newsagency.

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marketing

Recycling newspapers and magazines

I was fortunate to visit a gallery last week showing items from recycled newspapers and magazines – hers and his bags, jewellery and clothing. This is one of the higher-end bags. The range is a significant advance on similar products I have seen.

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magazines

Pitching a sugar-free Christmas

We have the New Idea Sugar-Free Christmas one-shot off-location so more shoppers see it. We have it in an easily moved free standing unit, midway in the shop near cards and gifts. It taps into the high level of interest right now in all things sugar-free. It is the kind of title people will purchase on impulse – hence the off-location placement.

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magazines

Good campaign by Oxfam on corporate tax avoidance

I support the campaign by Oxfam calling on companies to pay their fair share of tax. While it is the campaign against online sales that is getting media attention, there are plenty of businesses, big businesses not paying their fair share of tax. News Corp. in Australia has come under fire on this as have others.

While the Oxfam campaign focusses on the impact on poor countries, Australia would be a better country if big businesses here paid their fare share of tax and if they did not receive the handouts they receive.

Small business does more heavy lifting as a percentage of turnover than big business. That needs to change. It will only change when we have politicians on all sides who stand up to big business.

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Ethics

Facebook community growth is as important as shopper traffic growth

Growth in the number of likes for your business Facebook page(s) is as important as growth in shopper traffic through your front door.

I see a direct correlation between the two, if you use Facebook well. Of course, if is the important word in that statement.

I have been actively using Facebook for business for many years. It is an excellent platform of reaching new customers and talking with existing customers. It is an important tool in business growth.

HOW DO YOU GET MORE LIKES ON FACEBOOK?

This is simple, provide good content, content that gives people what they come to Facebook for – entertainment, inspiration, a laugh. The more you do this the more your post will be liked and shared. The more likes and shoes the more people you reach.

Growth in likes for your page begins with your content. If your page likes are not growing, look at your content.

While you can ask people to like your Facebook page, resulting likes may not be as valuable as those who like your page of their own accord.

You can also buy likes. That, however, is a waste of money.

HOW DOES A BUSINESS USE FACEBOOK WELL?

Businesses that use Facebook well entertain. This can be by making people laugh, smile, feel emotional or be happy overall. They do it by being human, real and engaged. They do it by not trying to sell. They do it y not being commercial.

Photos are real, not studio shots, showing products in use more so than on the shelves. They show customers, happy customers.

They share something of themselves.

A newsagency uses Facebook well by not writing about products newsagents sell.

HOW DO MORE LIKES OF YOUR BUSINESS TRANSLATE INTO MORE SALES?

Someone engaging with your business Facebook page is similar to someone browsing your shop. Both can lead to sales.

People being on your page and engaging with your page brings them close to you and proximity = sales.

The more people who like your business Facebook page the more people you can pitch and offer to or reach out with an event or product announcement, them more people who will hear what you have to say.

Take Facebook seriously as a key business tool. The benefits are real and valuable.

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Management tip

The important charity connection

Australians love charity connected Christmas cards.

I know because of the number of requests I see in0store and through social media. Some customers make card purchase decisions based on the charities being supported.

People want to support charities they know and trust.

While the ideal situation is that suppliers negotiate with charities and promote their support on products in-store, we, at the store level, can engage with charities ourselves and thereby pitch charity support where a supplier has not taken up the opportunity.

I think this is especially important at Christmas where so many boxed card packs have a charity message.

If your boxed cards do not have a city connection, consider partnering with a local charity. For a modest donation they may allow you to include a sticker on each product – promoting their work and your support for them. This is the key element in driving sales.

It does not always have to fall to your supplier to leverage a charity connection. Indeed, supporting a local charity can work particularly well. This can help you be on the front foot with other charities and community groups that ask for money or products as a donation. You can point to your current engagement and suggest they make a submission for next year.

It can be frustrating the number of requests for support. I see it from a retailer and from a supplier perspective., Almost daily there is a request for money or some other form of support, often without a commercial benefit.

The challenge is that if businesses are not profitable they are unable to support these requests. hence the importance of a commercial benefit. This is where supporting a local group or charity could work for a local business in that their members and supporters could be leveraged to support the business.

If you do have boxed Christmas cards offering national charity support, actively promote this in-store and on Facebook. relying on the note on the product to do it is not enough. Be active, talk about the charities supported, their work and your pride in being able to support them.

It is vital you make the most of any charity connection as early in a season as possible.

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Greeting Cards

News Corp newspaper promotion in Coles

I noticed this promotion with 25,000 double movie passess on offer in a Coles supermarket on the weekend. It was being promoted on in-store radio as well.

This is a sweet deal. It is being managed by Loyalty Pacific News Corp and Coles. To get in on the deal the shopper needs to purchase using your FlyBys card.

Thinking about it, it is smart marketing as they are focussed on getting the supermarket shopper to add a newspaper, or two, to their basket.

Coles is an easy platform as all stores in their large national network are corporate owned, the whole organisation is KPI engaged and they have platforms for driving this – in-store radio, front of store displays and an integrated loyalty program.

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Newspaper marketing

A reminder about Inside Out magazine

This is your reminder that the publisher of Inside Out magazine has a deal with Coles that makes them look cheap and us look expensive. It’e been going on for years and while my posts here may not change the disrespectful deal, it at least informs newsagents.

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Ethics

Sunday newsagency management tip: know your occupancy cost

Newsagents, and just about any small business retailer, often complain about rent. Many who do complain do not know their occupancy cost. This is the ratio of rent to product sales where product sales include agency commission.

Knowing your occupancy cost is key to every discussion you can have on rent.

Here is the advice I have provided previously on occupancy cost:

Occupancy cost: between 9% and 11% of revenue where revenue is product revenue plus commission from agency lines. Location and situation are a big factor in this benchmark. For example, a large shopping centre business will have a higher cost than a high street situation.

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Management tip

More newsagents embracing cloud-based school booklist service

Last year, my software company launched Booklist, a cloud based school booklist management solution designed to help newsagents compete with big businesses chasing school book list business. The goal was to provide newsagents a facility through which they can be seen by customers as more up to date and through which they can cut the time it takes to manage booklist orders.

Newsagents have had direct input into the 2018 school year release, which is now live.

Using the site, newsagents can:

  1. Setup a school.
  2. Setup classes in a school and load all the booklist requirements for each class.
  3. You can easily copy booklists, to make setup easy.
  4. The booklist items could be loaded by a CSV file. You record item description, price, supplier and supplier stock cost.
  5. You setup order close dates.
  6. You note when an order is ready for collection, this advises the customer.
  7. The site allows you not having stock, thereby adjusting the amount to be collected.
  8. You share a link for parents to sign up and add their kid(s) to a class and to either take the whole booklist or select what they want.
  9. The site allocates logins to parents so they would have access to their order.
  10. Receive payment from the parents, direct into your account, online. Alternatively, customers pay on pickup.
  11. Export a file of all items required to fulfil booklists, by supplier and by school. CSV you could load into Excel.
  12. Report on total revenue by school and class. This helps if you have a rebate in place.
  13. The site is accessible by desktop, tablet and phone.

In addition to the per year fee there is a small card processing fee, on a cost recovery basis, for payments made online.

Here are the enhancements guided by newsagents:

  1. Store can publish and unpublished a booklist, aiding setup and management.
  2. Store be able to copy a booklist from one year to the other year within the same school
  3. Store be able to personalised the booklist name for each year
  4. Store be able to add multiple booklists to a year level
  5. Store be able to define a year level themselves, for example “Year 2/3”
  6. Store be able to generate a sales report for selected schools within a selected date range
  7. Store be able to generate a product report for selected schools within a selected date range
  8. Store will be able to add comment to order when they update order status, the comment will be sent to the customer in email
  9. Store will be able to filter order status in the store backend for example view “completed” orders only
  10. Added “Booklist Review” step, before store confirm to create the school booklist.
  11. Fixed the website URL from frontend.booklist.com.au to www.booklist.com.au

From this project it is clear there is no one approach to managing school book list sales. The developers sought to address the most common and commercially viable needs to provide a cost effective solution for newsagents.

To access the preview please follow these instructions.

Demo Store URL https://demo.booklist.com.au

Demo Schools https://demo.booklist.com.au/available-schools

Demo Store Backend Login

Store Login https://www.booklist.com.au/login
Store Username demo
Store Password booklist

Any questions, email help@booklist.com.au

If my first job in a newsagency decades ago I packed school book orders. I remember the manual accounting process well. My hope is this cloud based facility encourages more newsagents back into this area newsagents once owned.

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Newsagency opportunities

Promoting early Christmas card purchases

We are engaging in-store and out of store campaigns to attract earlier shopping for Christmas, especially for Christmas cards – both single and boxed.

We are using several messages in the campaign, designed to engage in a light way with the early shopping opportunity.

I like the monochrome collateral created by a team member as it sits well against colourful cards. Too often I see colourful collateral with cards, and it is lost.

The messaging in the campaign will change over the next four weeks for what we consider to be the early part of Christmas shopping. The messaging is consistent in-store and online, to leverage the value of repetition.

It is important we evolve how we pitch our businesses. People will pay less attention if our messaging does not change, because it will be the same old.

If you are worried Christmas this year will be the same as or worse than last year, you still have time to change your messaging, brings in new stock and create a different story to what you have done before.

Average results happen in businesses where they do average things.

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Greeting Cards

WA newsagents pushing back against Lotterywest online campaign

Newsagents in Western Australia are removing promotional material in-store for Lotterywest online gaming sign up as a dispute with the state government owned lottery operator escalates.

While the newsagent / Lotterywest relationship improved with the change of government earlier this year, recent pressure from Lotterywest for newsagents to promote a service from which they make no money has seen a setback in progress.

How this matter is handled is vitally important given the awful few years in the newsagent / Lotterywest relationship leading up to the change of government.

Watch this space as WA newsagents work together to agitate for fairness.

There is no doubt that Lotterywest needs to serve customers online. They are behind Tatts on this front. However, they need to do it with newsagents, to show a small business partnership can work, to show the Tatts ignorance of and refusal to genuinely respect newsagents is the wrong move.

Newsagents have been the retail face of lotteries in Australia since launch.

Most newsagents see lottery each customer as their customer.

Many newsagents have won and nurtured these customers.

Newsagents have done the hard yards.

Tatts misses these points.

Hopefully, Lotterywest respects newsagents for what they have done and can do for the community owned business.

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Competition

The value of specialisation in independent retail

Specialisation is more important in independent retail today than ever.

With the lines between retail channels blurred what was a differentiating yesterday is no longer today.

Take stationery. Our channel dominated this twenty years ago. Today, we are not dominant with supermarkets, stationery specialty, online and new stores like Typo, Kikki.k and Smiggle doing this far better than us.

Look at the five pillar categories on which our channel was built – newspapers, magazines, cards, stationery and lotteries – each of these is available outside our retail channel with more purchase outlets being added.

On the upside, opportunities abound for businesses that specialise well.

By specialisation I mean going deep into a niche or product category and serving the interest well through product, knowledge and service.

I have seen newsagency businesses redefine themselves by specialising in a way then had never before considered, often in a category or niche far from what was traditional for a newsagency business. In the cases I am thinking of, they have not fully turned their back on the traditional newsagency offering. Rather, they have introduced their specialisation within their business, as an add on, bringing to the business a valuable additional traffic driver.

Specialisation does not need to dominate the business. However, it does need to be enough for people to be prepared to drive a distance to see what you have or to purchase over the hone or online because of your broad and unique range.

The photo with this post is a wall of playing cards I found in a store I visited recently. It has more cards than I can recall seeing in any other business. This is the type of specialisation I am talking about – affordable in terms of inventory investment, space and management time.

There is no limit to what you could specialise with. That is what is terrific in this consideration. You can specialise with products that stray far form what one might usually find in a newsagency. Your specialisation is an opportunity to create a business within a business, to give a new range of shoppers a reason to consider your business.

While specialisation can be challenging, the benefits can be considerable. Take your time as it could be you need to try several concepts before you find what works in your business.

This is what is important in retail, evoking your business, evolving your focus, reaching new audiences.

Standing still is not an option. 

8 likes
Newsagency management

Tobacco retail display in Denmark

Here is a behind the counter tobacco retail unit in a c-store in Denmark, which I saw a couple of weeks ago. I figured Australian tobacco retailers may find it interesting. It is a computerised dispenser with digital representation of packs. Excellent security.

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Tobacco sales
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