How newsXpress helped local newsagent businesses through Covid

newsXpress has helped many local newsagent businesses through Covid in many different ways. This help has ranged from the practical to the financial to the emotional.

Our mission is to help local newsagent businesses be more relevant to their community, more enjoyable to those working there and more valuable to those who own the business.

Most newsXpress newsagent shops are in regional Australia or suburban high street situations. Many are in small towns.

Here is some of what we have done with and for newsXpress newsagent members:

Early access to state and territory grants. Even where they did not quality for JobKeeper we helped plenty make the case for grant funding.

Rent relief. We have helped many newsXpress members with rent relief, which has ranged from 25% off rent for 6 months to 75% off rent for 6 months.

Bonus GP%. On top of newsXpress preferential pricing, 51 suppliers provided an additional 5% of GP April through June on all purchases in an exclusive

First with jigsaws. In February we pitched jigsaws as a growth category in a Covid world. Our members grabbed inventory, and achieved excellent sales.

Online with jigsaws. In March we turned on a national jigsaw website connected to newsXpress stores to win delivery and click and collect sales. It’s been a hit.

First with nesting. In March we identified nesting as a popular growth category. Members following our advice have added thousands of dollars in revenue.

New suppliers. We have brought on 15 new suppliers in recent months, almost all of whom have not previously dealt with newsagents.

Half price website development. With Tower Systems we’ve delivered beautiful POS software linked Shopify sites for individual stores for half price.

Daily email. Sent each morning, by 7am with updated supplier deals, to-do tips for staff and more. Designed for a fast, time-efficient, read.

Mask access. Months ago, we provided access to masks for sale. Today, we have 12 suppliers with handmade through to funky and fun masks.

Subsidised online sales. We launched subsidised shipping for online Beanie Boo sales for our website connected to 100+ local newsXpress stores. This site delivers hundreds of thousands of dollars across participating newsXpress stores annually.

Click and collect. From March we offered practical advice and guidance on how to do click and collect, to win new business. It’s been a hit.

Daily Zoom meetings. These started March 15 and have run Monday – Friday ever since. The sessions are filmed and 75+ members watch the videos daily. In the sessions we meet suppliers, stay on top of news, motivate each other and more.

Sunday drinks. Every Sunday @ 4pm. This is a more relaxed chat.

Engaging social media campaigns. Four months ago, we launched Storytime, daily social media targeted stories that provide an emotional narrative members can use on social media. They are a daily hit driving excellent feedback and engagement.

This list is not complete, we help and support local newsXpress newsagent businesses in many other ways.

Published by

mark

I am a Director of newsXpress, a marketing group for newsagents keen for a bright future. You can reach me on +61 418 321 338 or mark[at]towersystems.com.au

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