Why men’s journals are worth space in your newsagency right now
Young men aged 18 to 40 are buying journals in growing numbers. Not diaries. Structured, guided journals built around habits, daily prompts, and goal-setting pages. They found the category through Stoicism podcasts, productivity YouTube channels, and communities built around self-discipline and mental health. Projects like Better health, Blokes Talk, men’s Shep and more speak top it. Local churches too.
Structured and guided formats now account for 54% of planner sales globally. Gen Z is 35 to 40% of that buyer base — well above where the industry expected them to be. The broader men’s wellness market is forecast to nearly double by 2030. Journaling is a small corner of it, which is exactly what makes it worth trialling. Low cost to test, no specialist range needed.
For a newsagency, there are two buying occasions worth understanding. The self-purchaser is deliberate. He checks paper weight, flips through the layout, and walks past a cheaper option that does not feel right. Matte black, charcoal, leather. Words like “focus”, “discipline”, “morning ritual”. He will pay $45 for a journal that suits him and ignore a $15 one that does not. Get the range right once and he comes back.
The gift buyer does not know the category but wants something that looks considered. A journal and pen together with a simple “Gift for him” sign does the job. She does not need to know anything else.
A small display near the counter — four to six SKUs, one pen, one leather sleeve, clean signage — is enough to find out whether it works in your store.
newsXpress provided its members a full brief on this category a while back, and it goes considerably further than what I have covered here. Merchandising detail, display headers, bundle pricing, paper specifications, what to avoid stocking and why. Built on market data and retail behaviour research. Not a supplier recommendation.
Finding new shoppers is the problem most independents are trying to solve. Categories like this one — real demand, accessible to trial, underserved by most newsagencies — are where that starts. The traditional product mix is not going to bring in people who have never had a reason to walk through the door.
If you are a newsXpress member, the full brief is in your member resources. If you are not a member and this is the kind of support you have been looking for, it is worth a conversation.
And, for what it’s worth, I know of a local retailer playing in this narrow segment and achieving $15,000+ a year in direct sales and more than double that if you consider what is added to the basket during the destination purchase.
It all comes down to whether you do want to attract new shoppers, or whether you are happy with things the way they are.
… Mark Fletcher is the CEO of newsXpress and founder of Tower Systems, a POS software company serving independent retailers across Australia. mark@newsxpress.com.au | 0418 321 338