The future of newspapers as viewed in 1995
Wow! Check out this ABC Science program from 1995 on the future of newspapers:
Fascinating given that the device predictions came true and sooner than expected.
News turns a profit in the UK
Balancing my posts today about the future of print is news reported by International Business Times earlier this month out of the UK that Times Newspapers has made a modest profit of £1.7m. The whole article is well worth reading as it offers a British take on the health of print newspapers.
The future of the print newspaper
Harvard Political Review earlier this month published The Future of Print: Newspapers Struggle to Survive in the Age of Technology, an article well worth reading. It takes us through the newspaper financial model and looks at the impact of technology.
Technology provides publishers the best option for efficiency, it dramatically cuts the distribution cost. Distribution newsagents who did not factor this into their business plan five or ten years ago are challenged today.
While there is a beautiful and emotional argument about the sound of the newspaper landing on the doorstep, the reality is it now costs to much to do this and so the service will continue to retreat.
Google and the future of News
I enjoyed an article from Jeff Jarvis at Medium about a role Google could play in the future of news. I especially love this quote from Jarvis:
In Geeks, I argue that news organizations must shift from thinking of themselves as content factories serving mass audiences to understanding that journalism is a service to individuals and communities.
The whole article is well worth reading by those who cherish news and the role easy access to independent news and analysis plays in democratic society.
I suspect many 9in existing news organisations are not thinking along the same lines as jarvis – based on the actions they are taking.
New York Review of Books on Murdoch
The New York Review of Books has published an article Murdoch watchers will wan to read. How the Murdoch Gang Got Away by Geoffrey Wheatcroft is compelling reading about the phone hacking scandal which is still playing out.
Playing hardball on refunds
Here are the rules we follow for handling refund requests in order of importance:
- We require proof of purchase. If the customer does not have the receipt they must at least know the date and time so we can find the purchase – plus what else was purchased in the transaction. We do this search using our newsagency software that manages all sales. If we cannot find the purchase or are not sure for any other reason, the conversation stops there.
- If the goods are defective we provide a refund.
- If the goods are not defective we make a judgement call on whether to give a store credit depending on the request. For example, for magazines that could have been read in the time the customer has had them – no.
- If the goods were purchased more than a week ago, a store credit is unlikely.
- If the goods are not in their original packaging then no store credit.
- The louder the customer the less likelihood of a store credit.
- We use the technology to help us in enforcing our rules, the make the no, if it is a no, less personal.
Some people try all sorts of scams to get store credits or cash refunds. It’s important we are wary and only letting through requests that meet reasonable requirements. It is also important we are consistent.
Let the Boxing Day Sale begin in the newsagency
We’re all set for a very busy day today and for the next few days with plenty of stock discounted so we can be an active participant in the Boxing Day Sale madness that is part of life in a big shopping centre.
We have all Christmas items at half price as well as a range of gifts we’ve brought in. We are selling what we have left of single Christmas cards at half price and will do so until the New Year.
Calendars remain at full price until Jan. 1.
We have been planning for the Boxing Day Sale for the last couple of months so that nothing is left to the last minute. It’s a terrific opportunity to reset our product mix for 2015.
What I especially like is that around half the shoppers we will see are not people we see regularly so the opportunity to sell is even greater as they are not used to what we have.
Years ago we’d watch as major retailers did the Boxing Day Sale and our offer was soft. Once we jumped all in and really embraced the opportunity we discovered that we could attract plenty of new shoppers to the business and benefit from showing these new shoppers that we are not your average newsagency.
Now, we see the Boxing Day Sale as a key marketing activity for us, one that plays out in value beyond the sale itself.
Merry Christmas
To all the newsagents here – have a well deserved day off. To everyone else – relax and enjoy the day!
Merry Christmas!
Customers love the hassle free approach to forgotten envelopes
We found ourselves providing many envelopes for cards brought to the counter without envelopes through the Christmas shopping season. We have a stash of different sizes there for just this situation – like we do for all major seasons. Today especially, when shopper stress levels were high, the reaction of our easy handling of forgotten envelopes was a thrill.
It’s though small steps like this that we can provide memorable customer service that makes shopping easier. This makes working in retail more enjoyable for us.
If you’ve not done this before, try it … customers love that you can provide an envelope quickly and easily from the counter.
The fart pen is the guy Christmas gift of 2014
We sold plenty of fart pens this Christmas. Today, Christmas Eve, shoppers bought them in a steady stream. I was embarrassed by some of the hilarious stories. I feel for the dads who will open these tomorrow.
A cherished gift of small business retail is the stories customers share, even the stories about fart pens.
News Corp delivery adjustments leave newsagents without stock
I have heard from plenty of newsagents this week about supply changes forced on them by News. One holiday destination shop was cut back without discussion. In my own case today we have enough of the Herald Sun to last until 9am. These are frustrations we don’t need.
It’s Christmas Eve: have fun in your newsagency today
I like Christmas Eve in the newsagency. Shoppers are happy and spending. The shelves are emptying. Everything is still at full price. Even things you thought would not sell sell as the last minute shoppers are less fussy.
There are wishes, hugs and even the odd kiss from customers.
Christmas carols start to sound like carols and not the background noise you’ve heard for the last few weeks.
No supplier is chasing you for money today.
You might catch a moment for Christmas cheer with colleagues.
But most of all I like the anticipation of the day, the last few hours especially. I’m grateful to experience it in retail as I find it very special.
I hope your day today is crazy good with lots of laughs, lots of sales and good feelings flowing both ways with your customers.
What?! No coffee
Europeans are used to towns closing down for summer and plenty in China are used to it too when factories and businesses close for Chinese New Year. But I don’t get why my favourite coffee shop is closed today and for the next couple of weeks.
It’s a competitive world with other coffee shop options – so competitive that I thought this year they would stay open to stop their regulars discovering better coffee elsewhere.
This is the risk all retailers face if they are in a situation where they can close – as opposed to being in a shopping mall where you can’t close.
While a break could benefit everyone including the family at the heart of the business, shoppers are not as loyal today. In small business especially I think we are better off NOT giving our customers a reason to shop elsewhere. Tough as it is, being there when they want and need us is small business retail 101.
I have found an alternative coffee shop. They have a four-shot monster latte that is amazing. Flying…
Gift card promotion driving sales in the newsagency
We’re enjoying good gift card sales with tactical placement of a gift card stand next to magazines. We are careful in the placement of cards on the stand – matching cards to the shopper most likely to be in this part of the business. Gift card sales are excellent this year and while our margin is slim, for a no inventory cost product it’s better than bus tickets and lotteries, way better.
News Corp promoting to Qantas passengers
When you check in for a Qantas flight using the self service terminals at the moment, an ad for a News Corp. digital product is on the screen while your details are searched out. In Sydney yesterday it was The Daily Telegraph app being promoted.
it’s a smart move by News, targeting the right market for a mobile product.
Newsagents need to take in and consider these moves as they plan for 2015 and beyond. The best way to learn what newspaper publishers are planning is to look at their actions rather than listening to their words.
New Idea confusion
Several newsagents have mentioned shopper confusion about New Idea – that this week’s issue is last week’s. A couple joked that some will purchase both and not notice. A fresh Woman’s Day this week has some New Idea shoppers trying the opposition.
I expect this is more an issue in supermarkets and other retail businesses where there is less customer service than in a newsagency.
Issues with vending VISA product via Touch
I am aware of an issue for newsagents vending prepaid Visa product through their POS software connecting to Touch Networks. A conference call has been arranged for overnight between Touch and their US based partner for this product to get to the bottom of the issue and sort out a resolution.
UPDATE: It’s all fixed. The problem was at the US end.
Video: How magazine publishers and distributors make newsagents less competitive for magazines
Here’s a short video about the impact of magazine oversupply and why newsagents early return. It was shot in my newsagency on Thursday last week.
If you work for a magazine publisher or distributor, please watch this video and learn more about the #1 issue that makes newsagents less competitive than they could be, the #1 issue that leads newsagents to quit their businesses.
I made the video because I care about the channel and I care about magazines and the vital role they play in the channel.
While I write about oversupply often, the here are not getting through, the problem we see today is worse in my view than ten years ago as we are made to look worse that our competitors.
Through the video, I am hopeful that showing is more effective than telling.
This video is the type of communication newsagent associations ought to produce. Instead, they attend meetings that achieve little or nothing for newsagents on this mission-critical issue.
We are approaching a tipping point on this.
People really do buy anything at Christmas
I didn’t expect the Santa shopping bags to work for us but they have – in yet another reminder that I am not my customer.
One lady bought one on the weekend because she had to have it to get into the Christmas shopping spirit.
Successful retail is about having the right products in the right location at the right time. Those three factors are far ahead of price in importance – as the sales of the bags show.
The best successes are from products we are not known for that are easily purchased on impulse.
A discount voucher from a billboard
The Priceline billboard in Pitt Street Mall offered a voucher if I pressed the button – so I did. Spend $50 and get $10 off.
It’s a clever use of the billboard but old school compared to interactive billboards in some European and Asian countries where offers are tailored to the person in front of the billboard … or better still – where offers are sent to your phone based on past purchases from other retailers. That’s the future of mobile marketing to shoppers.
GAP discounts 40% just before Christmas
Further to my post on the weekend about not discounting before you need to, I was surprised to see GAP is Sydney yesterday offering 40% off everything in store. While they control the entire supply chain of what they sell, the 40% off sign suggested to me that they’re having a soft Christmas. They’re smart retailers, I’m sure they are doing this because it works for them – probably because the discount is in their price. The shop was full.
A solemn night in Sydney
I did not intentionally head to Martin Place in Sydney tonight, the scene of the siege a week ago today that resulted in the loss of three lives … but find myself there I did. There are more flowers than I expected, filling five or six large barricaded off areas.
What really surprised me was the people solemnly filing past the flowers – many family groups together including plenty of young kids respectfully taking in the sea of colour.
I think the reaction speaks to the difference of life in Australia. A siege resulting in deaths is rare here as is gun violence, thankfully.
What happened a week ago shocked the country and I can see the extraordinary floral tributes and visiting them providing a small outlet through which people have been able to publicly express their shock and to reflect on the lives lost and the impact on those who survived.
None of this relates this blog and running a newsagency – except that it further informs my own view of the world and this blog is, in part, just that.
Newspaper covers up page one story
What’s the point of the story on page one of the Herald Sun? Looking at the cover it’s hard to tell since News Corp. covered the report with an ad for streaming service Quickflix. This from the same company that complains about how their product is displayed in newsagencies. Nuts.
The things customers say: My mum is an idiot
In the newsagency on Saturday a guy in his early thirties was speaking into a Chatter Santa saying over and over my Mum is an idiot. Chatter Santa was repeating it back to him, over and over.
I heard this from behind me and looked around to see what’s what. His mum was standing next to him rolling her eyes.
You see and hear some crazy things in retail – especially at Christmas. 3 days to go.
Too many newsagency suppliers are closed already
It is disappointing that in this week of busy trade for many newsagents, plenty of our suppliers are already fully closed for Christmas – with most that are closed not reopening until January 5.
Given the tough and competitive marketplace of today, suppliers that are closed should not be surprised if newsagent customers find others who can supply this time of the year and beyond.
While I appreciate suppliers will close when trade is the quietest for them, they should at the very least have a process in place for handling urgent orders. A sale is a sale after all. Too many that are closed already have not done time.