Tag: local retail

What the Lincraft closure actually tells us about independent retail

Lincraft confirmed yesterday it’s closing every store in Australia and New Zealand. Eighty years of trading, done.

The commentary will follow a predictable path. Consultants will use it as a case study. Retail journalists will write about physical retail dying. Neither response is especially useful.

Lincraft was a chain. It ran at scale — national leases, centralised supply, fixed cost structures across dozens of locations. When that model stops working, it stops working everywhere at once. That’s not the situation an independent retailer faces. One shop, a local customer base, the ability to change something this week and see the result next week.

The data from newsXpress member stores tells a different story from the headlines. The most recent benchmark covered 33 stores, January to May 2026 against the same period last year. Transaction count was down 4.1%. Revenue was up 4.8%. Average sale value was up 8.5%. Gross profit was up 10%. That’s 750,000 transactions from locally owned shops. Not businesses in decline — businesses mid-transition, and the transition is working.

No consultant drove that. No conference session. Individual owners made their own calls — new categories, adjusted product ranges, shops that reflect what their local customers actually want to buy. Gifts, homewares, sensory toys, things no chain bothers stocking because chains can’t move fast enough or care enough about a single postcode.

That’s the advantage independent retail has always had. It just shows up more clearly when a chain hits a wall.

Costs are up for independents too. Some traditional categories are smaller than they were. Foot traffic has changed. The owners doing well aren’t pretending otherwise — they’ve moved, steadily, in the right direction.

The Lincraft closure is a real loss for the staff and the customers who relied on those stores. But scale and longevity don’t protect a business when the model underneath stops fitting the market.

Local ownership and a willingness to change — that’s harder to replicate than any supply agreement.

newsXpress helps local indie retailers thrive on a minimal budget and without overthinking. We like to have fun while we work on our businesses.

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newsXpress supports small local independent retailers to thrive. Find out more at help@newsxpress.com.au.

A Sunday thought on hope, and why this channel has more of it than people think

Sunday is a good day to step back from the counter and think about why we do this.

It is easy to feel weighed down in independent retail right now, especially in our channel.

Newspapers keep declining. Magazines too. Costs are up. The big retailers keep getting bigger. If you only listened to the noise, you could believe the local newsagency and gift shop had no future.

The data tells a different story, and we find real hope in it.

Last week, we finished analysing five months of trading across 32 newsXpress member shops. Transactions were down 4%. Revenue was up 4%. Customers are visiting less often and spending more when they do, an average of $21.97 a visit, up from $20.29 a year earlier.

Think about what that means. Fewer people walked through those doors, and the businesses grew anyway. Not because of luck, and not because print recovered. It did not. They grew because shop owners made brave decisions about what their shops stand for. They backed gifts. They backed collectibles. They put quality cards where customers could find them. They let go of what was not working.

That is where our hope comes from. Not from wishing the past back, but from watching ordinary local retailers reinvent their businesses in real time, with their own hands and their own money, and win.

There is hope in the community side too. Behind every shop in that study is a family, often staff who have been there for years, and a town or suburb that relies on the shop for more than what it sells. A good local shop is a meeting place. The conversation at the counter matters as much as the transaction.

newsXpress exists for these people. The benchmarking, the supplier access, the marketing, the phone call when things are hard. All of it is in service of one belief: local retail is worth fighting for, and it can thrive.

If you are reading this on a Sunday, tired from a long week in your shop, the evidence says your best years can still be ahead of you. The retailers proving it are not different from you. They just decided to change, and they did not do it alone.

Enjoy your Sunday. Monday is full of possibility.

Printer ink and toner: newsXpress helps newsagents think clearly about a category that still matters to some stores

For a segment of newsagency retailers, printer ink and toner remains a genuine part of the business. Customers ask for it. It connects to stationery and office supplies. It brings people back regularly.

Ink is not dead for newsagents, it’s changed, evolved.

Whether it deserves floor space, investment, and staff attention is a different question — and not one that has a single answer across the channel.

newsXpress has developed detailed strategic guidance for members on exactly this category. The guidance does not push a particular outcome. It helps each member think through whether the category makes sense for their specific store, their location, their customer base, and their capacity to manage it well.

That kind of honest, store-specific analysis is what distinguishes useful retail advice from generic category promotion.

The competitive landscape for ink and toner has shifted considerably. Customers can check prices on their phone while standing at your counter. Large format retailers and online specialists have invested heavily in range and fulfilment. The question for an independent retailer is not whether those competitors exist — they do — but whether there is a genuine opportunity that those operators cannot easily serve.

In some locations and for some customer profiles, there is. The newsXpress guidance helps members identify whether their store is one of them.

It also addresses the risks that are easy to underestimate. Stock management in this category requires discipline. SKU counts can grow quickly. Some products become obsolete. Slow-moving stock carries a real cost. The guidance is structured to help members avoid the mistakes that turn a reasonable category test into a cash flow problem.

For members already stocking ink and toner, the guidance offers a basis for reviewing whether the current approach is working as well as it should. For those considering it for the first time, it provides a framework for making the decision with clear eyes.

This is the kind of strategic support newsXpress provides across a range of categories — not telling members what to do, but making sure they have the information and the framework to decide for themselves.

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newsXpress supports small local independent retailers to thrive. Find out more at help@newsxpress.com.au.

What to look for in a newsagency marketing group

Plenty of marketing groups pitch to Aussie newsagents. Social media management, seasonal campaigns, buying power, business support. On the surface the offers can look similar.

They are not.

The group you sign with affects your product mix, margin, how you talk to customers — even how much you enjoy turning up to work. It pays to look past the brochure.

Clarity, not comfort

Some groups sell the idea that growth is easy. “Nothing for you to do but display and sell.” That sounds good. It also is not how retail change works.

newsXpress does not say growth is easy. It says growth is achievable — through better decisions about what you range and where you put it, a willingness to test new categories, and real work on the floor. The job of a marketing group is to make that work better informed. Not to pretend the work does not exist.

Ask for examples, not adjectives

Any group can say they are large, trusted or proven. What matters is what has actually happened in member stores.

Ask about card pocket analysis. At newsXpress, this work has helped members lift card revenue by cutting the range back to what sells. Ask about Seasonal Edge — newsXpress funds prizes and point-of-sale collateral, and members have used it to move high-margin seasonal product. Ask about Mint coins, which some stores have turned into a real incremental revenue stream.

Not testimonials. Specific category results, with numbers behind them.

Buying power needs context

“Up to X% savings” is easy to say. The harder questions are: compared to what, on which lines, and how reliably?

newsXpress looks at buying power as part of a bigger picture — commercial terms that support both margin and stock turn, access to suppliers who bring in new shoppers rather than just cheaper versions of what every retailer already carries, and honest guidance on where a deal actually makes sense at store level. Price is one input. Terms, cashflow and exit risk are others.

Digital that fits the store

Facebook posts, Google Business Profile, basic websites — these are easy to offer. Making digital work commercially, and feel local rather than corporate, is harder.

newsXpress uses a blended model: ready-to-use assets members can deploy quickly, group-level campaigns where shared messaging makes sense, and real encouragement for stores to post their own content. The aim is visibility without making every store page look like it came from the same template.

Honest advice about categories

Some categories are simple. Others — ink and toner, for instance, or any range that requires serious capital outlay and carries high obsolescence risk — need more careful handling.

newsXpress will tell a store to sit out a category even when there is a group promotion running on it. Not every range suits every location. A regional store and a metro store are different businesses. Briefings are designed to show the upside and the risk clearly, before a member commits.

A marketing group’s job is not just to open doors. Sometimes it is to point out the ones worth leaving shut.

Support means people, not just portals

Many groups describe support in terms of tools: portals, webinars, video libraries. These are useful. What retailers actually need is someone who knows the channel, picks up the phone, and is willing to engage with the specific situation of their shop.

At newsXpress, that means one-to-one conversations about data, layout, stock and labour. Store visits when they are needed — including in difficult periods. Member sessions where real experiences, the good ones and the expensive mistakes, get shared openly.

What independence actually means

Most groups say they respect your independence. The test is what they require of you.

newsXpress is a marketing group, not a franchise. Members decide whether to change their shop name, which card suppliers to work with, and which programs to participate in. The advice is direct where the data is clear. Participation is never mandatory.

Questions worth putting to any group

Before you sign:

  • Can you show me results from stores similar to mine, with actual numbers?
  • How do you use my POS data when giving advice?
  • Which suppliers and programs are genuinely exclusive to your members?
  • How do you decide when a category is not the right fit for a particular store?
  • How often will I hear from you, and what does that contact actually look like?

The answers will tell you more than any pitch.

What newsXpress offers

newsXpress helps independent newsagents grow profit, attract new customers and run businesses they want to be in. The work is grounded in real store data, suppliers who have been chosen for the margin they deliver, and support that takes retail seriously.

If you are weighing up your options, ask specific questions and look for specific answers.

Growth Does Not Happen by Default in Retail

One of the clearest insights from recent newsXpress material is this. Growth in independent retail is a decision. It does not happen by default.

The Mother’s Day 2026 performance report across 13 newsXpress stores told a clear story. The strongest performers were those that made deliberate decisions about what categories to back, what floor space to reallocate and whether to invest in an online channel. Stores with a stronger gifting focus performed better, while those with heavier exposure to declining print categories were more likely to struggle.

This is not simply about following trends. It is about making intentional commercial choices. When a retailer reviews the shop and asks which categories are genuinely growing, which are dragging, and what new customers are looking for, better decisions become possible.

The evidence is already there. Gifting is the strongest growth engine in the network. Cards remain resilient. Online is becoming increasingly important, with stores operating their own websites among the better performers in the Mother’s Day comparison. One store added about 8,000 dollars in online revenue during the measured period alone.

The wider newsXpress offer is built around helping retailers act on this kind of evidence. The group provides data analysis, mentoring, supplier access, tactical merchandising advice, digital collateral and business-specific guidance. It also brings members together so they can learn from each other, share ideas and build confidence to try something new.

This active approach is central to the culture of newsXpress. The business makes clear that it is not the right fit for someone looking only for supplier discounts, or for someone who believes their future depends solely on legacy agency categories. It is designed for retailers who are open to change and who want to build a more profitable, more enjoyable and more future-ready business.

That is why the group is focusing its 2026 national conference on two themes that matter right now. Decoupling from the traditional newsagency model and using AI in practical ways for local retail. Both themes point to the same bigger truth. The old model is not enough. Retailers need fresh thinking, better data and the confidence to act.

For prospective members, this is the real invitation from newsXpress. Not a promise of easy success. A partnership built around action, evidence and progress. In today’s retail climate, that may be exactly what makes growth possible.

How newsXpress Is Helping Retailers Use AI in Practical Ways

AI is attracting plenty of attention in business. For independent retailers, the challenge is sorting useful tools from empty hype. That is why newsXpress has taken a practical approach, focusing on how AI can support better decisions, save time and reveal opportunities in everyday retail.

For more than two years, newsXpress has been helping members use AI in their businesses. In 2026, the group produced an exclusive 30-page AI Starter Guide for members, featuring 19 ready-to-use prompts tailored to local retail situations. The aim is not to overwhelm people with technical detail. It is to get retailers started with tools that are useful from day one.

This matters because many retail decisions are repetitive, time-sensitive and dependent on good information. AI can help a retailer summarise performance trends, shape social media ideas, explore pricing options or frame better questions around underperforming categories. Used properly, it can make decision-making faster and more informed.

newsXpress is also using AI to support members more directly. The group has developed super prompts that can be applied to specific member situations using business data provided by the retailer. This can help uncover missed opportunities, clarify risks or bring structure to decisions that may otherwise feel messy or delayed.

Importantly, the approach is grounded in real retail. AI is one of the major themes for the August 2026 national conference in Perth, where members will hear about practical uses of AI at shop-floor level, not abstract theory. The conference will also include one-on-one sessions with head office experts, giving members direct access to support and advice.

The group is also paying attention to how AI is shaping customer discovery online. newsXpress has pointed members to the importance of posting regularly on Google Business Profiles, noting that AI-influenced search results are informed in part by what businesses publish there. This is a practical example of how small, consistent actions can improve visibility in a changing digital environment.

For many retailers, the real value of AI is not that it replaces judgement. It is that it gives clearer starting points, faster summaries and better ways to think through decisions. That is especially useful for small business owners who wear many hats and do not always have time to pause, analyse and plan.

newsXpress sees AI as a commercial opportunity for local retail, but only if it is made approachable and useful. That is what the group is working to deliver. For prospective members, it is another example of how newsXpress is helping independent retailers stay relevant, capable and ready for what comes next.

What Makes newsXpress Different for Independent Retailers

There is no shortage of offers made to independent retailers. Supplier deals, discounts and promises are common. What is less common is a group built around helping each member create a more valuable, more relevant and more enjoyable business. That is the difference at newsXpress.

newsXpress is a marketing group, not a franchise. It has been operating since 2001 and is privately owned. Nothing in the model is mandatory. Members do not pay fees based on turnover, and they are not forced into a standard format that ignores the reality of their local business. The relationship is built on partnership and active collaboration.

That matters because no two retail businesses are exactly alike. A small regional newsagency has different needs from a suburban shopping centre store. A business leaning into gifts has different priorities from one still heavily exposed to legacy print categories. newsXpress works with that reality, offering support shaped around the situation of each member rather than a one-size-fits-all formula.

The practical support is broad. Members gain access to preferred suppliers, delayed billing terms through central billing, seasonal marketing collateral, digital assets, loyalty cards, business advice, merchandising guidance and benchmarking support. There is also help with lease negotiations, supplier issues, product buying, margin improvement and identifying new shopper opportunities.

The group brings real-world credibility because the people behind it are active retailers and operators. The head office team has decades of retail, online and data experience. newsXpress also runs its own physical stores and online businesses, using them as live environments to test ideas, products and tactics before sharing what works with members.

Another difference is the focus on profit and business value. The goal is not simply to secure a better buy price. The goal is to help members improve stock turn, use floor space better, make stronger ranging decisions and attract shoppers who are not shopping with them today. In a changing retail market, these things matter more than a basic supplier discount.

The group also invests in members. In 2025, newsXpress spent more than 1,500 dollars per member on prizes and marketing through Seasonal Edge. It funds collateral, digital assets, travel for member meetings, conferences, technology systems and one-on-one support. The business has a track record of reinvesting in member benefit rather than distributing profits.

For retailers looking at their future, the question is not whether change is coming. It already has. The better question is who is beside you as you adapt. For many local business owners, that is where newsXpress stands apart. It offers support that is practical, evidence-based and grounded in the realities of modern retail.

Why Winter Is a Smart Time to Reset a Retail Business

For many independent retailers, the weeks between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can feel flat. Foot traffic softens. Urgency drops. The pace changes. But quiet periods are not always a problem. Used well, they can become some of the most valuable weeks of the retail year.

At newsXpress, winter is seen as a time to reset, test and prepare. A quiet shop floor creates room to think clearly, tidy up weak areas and try ideas that are easy to overlook during busier months. That is why a recent newsXpress guide shared 30 winter ideas built around micro events, marketing activity and practical business improvement.

Some of the strongest ideas are simple. A noticeboard inviting customers to share the best card they ever received costs very little, but it can turn a card department into a conversation starter. A winter soup recipe board does something similar, drawing people into the shop and giving them a reason to come back. A hot chocolate day on a cold Wednesday can create goodwill out of all proportion to the cost.

These ideas are not about gimmicks. They are about making a local shop feel alive. They give customers something to notice, something to talk about and something worth sharing. In a market where big retailers often feel impersonal, this kind of local warmth matters.

Winter is also a smart time to improve the business behind the scenes. A proper stocktake can expose inaccuracies that affect ordering and margin. A dead stock review can free up space and cash. Reviewing rosters, trading hours and front counter product placement can lift profitability without requiring more customers.

There is also value in using winter to sharpen marketing. A simple gift guide, a local café partnership, early Father’s Day layby promotion or a handwritten thank-you note to regular customers can all strengthen loyalty and create new reasons to shop local. These are practical moves. They do not depend on a big budget. They depend on attention and effort.

This is one of the advantages of being part of newsXpress. Members are not left to work these things out alone. The group shares practical ideas, seasonal resources, digital content and business advice designed to help retailers make the most of their time and space.

Retail is full of moments when it feels easier to wait. Winter can be one of them. But for retailers prepared to use the quieter weeks with purpose, it can become the season that puts the business in a stronger position for the rest of the year.

What Mother’s Day 2026 Taught Us About Local Gift Retail

Mother’s Day 2026 confirmed something important for independent retail. Gifting is where growth is happening. It is where shoppers are spending, and it is where local small business retailers can still win.

Across a sample of 13 newsXpress stores, nine grew retail sales through the Mother’s Day period compared to last year, excluding lottery revenue. The pattern was clear. Stores that made a deliberate commitment to gifting performed better, while stores carrying more floor space for declining print categories were under pressure.

First up: why 13 stores? This is a selection of newsXpress stores across different retail settings and demographics where we could access the data quickly, right after the season.

Now, why do it now, and so quickly? This matters because the wider market is changing fast. Newspaper unit sales are down about 13 percent year on year nationally, and the newspaper publishing industry continues to contract. Magazine sales are proving more resilient, but the long-term drift in traditional print categories is undeniable. At the same time, national consumer demand for gifting remains strong, especially in categories such as plush, homewares, candles, jewellery and personal care.

The strongest stores in the newsXpress network did not grow by accident. One recorded a 57 percent in-store result, with growth across plush, toys, gifts, homewares and apparel. Another achieved a 31 percent result, with toys and gifts more than doubling. In both cases, the growth came from clear ranging decisions, strong display execution and a willingness to back categories that shoppers are actively looking for.

Cards were another bright point. Most stores recorded positive or flat card sales through the Mother’s Day period. That is important because cards still sit at the centre of many local retail businesses. When cards are supported by a strong gift offer, they remain highly relevant.

There is another lesson in the data. Growth is not only coming from existing customers spending more. Some of the best-performing stores grew both transaction count and average sale value. That means a stronger gift offer is helping attract new shoppers as well as increasing the value of each visit.

For retailers thinking about the future, the message is straightforward. The opportunity is not in hoping old categories recover. The opportunity is in making better use of your space, curating products that feel fresh and relevant, and building a business around what shoppers want now.

That is where newsXpress comes in. The group exists to help independent retailers compete and grow through data, supplier access, marketing support and practical guidance tailored to each business. If you are looking at your shop and wondering what the next chapter could look like, Mother’s Day 2026 offered a useful answer. The retailers who chose gifting, and acted with intent, were the ones who grew.

The 12-month test: is your business ready to sell, or are you just hoping it is?

This one is about the preparation that most owners skip when planning to sell their newsagency business. They then often regret when they are sitting across from a broker wondering why the valuation is lower than expected.

The owner-dependency problem

If your shop cannot run without you for a week, it is worth less than you think. Buyers know it. Brokers know it. The multiple applied to your earnings is directly affected by how removable you are from daily operations.

This is not an insult. It is a structural issue that is fixable, but it takes time. The businesses that sell well in 2026 are the ones where the owner started working on this 12–18 months before they decided to sell.

What documented systems actually look like

Opening and closing procedures written down. A staff training document that exists somewhere other than your head. A reordering system that a manager can run without asking you. A rostering approach that is predictable. Supplier contact details that are accessible to someone else.

None of this is complicated. All of it takes time to build. None of it can be done in the weeks before a sale.

The revenue mix question

In 2026, a business that is 70–80% commission-based (lotteries, newspapers, magazines) is selling a diminishing income stream, and buyers price it that way. A business where 50% or more of revenue comes from categories you control the margin on — gifts, collectibles, stationery, café — is selling a retail business. The valuation multiple is different.

If your current mix is wrong for a sale in the next two years, you have time to fix it. If your current mix is wrong and you are planning to sell in six months, you have a problem.

The practical question

Ask yourself honestly: if you stepped away from the shop for a month, would it run? Would it run profitably? Would a new owner be able to step in without you and know what to do?

If the answer is no, that is the work. Not the broker conversation. Not the signage. The systems, the staff, the revenue mix, the documented processes. That is what you are actually selling.

Retail theft is at a 21-year high. Here is what to do about it in your shop.

The ABS recorded 595,660 theft victims nationally in 2024, the highest level in 21 years, up 6% on the prior year. Almost half of those incidents occurred in retail settings. The Griffith University ANZ Retail Crime Study put the total cost to Australian retailers at $7.79 billion in 2023–24, up 40% in two years.

Anecdotal evidence suggests it has grown since.

Newsagencies are not immune. High foot traffic, open floor plans, small items at accessible heights, and often a single staff member on the floor. The category mix — confectionery, stationery, small gifts, trading cards, collectibles — is exactly what opportunistic theft targets.

What is actually driving it

Cost-of-living pressure is part of it. Monash University research found a measurable increase in people who view certain theft as more justifiable under financial strain. Organised retail crime is also growing — coordinated groups, not just opportunistic shoplifters. Both are harder to deter than the individual customer pocketing a chocolate bar.

What works

Visibility is the cheapest deterrent. If your floor layout means there are areas your counter staff cannot see, those are your theft hotspots. Rearrange product so high-value small items are in sightline from the counter. This costs nothing.

Staff acknowledgement matters more than cameras. Research consistently shows that a staff member making eye contact and saying “I’ll be right with you” is more effective at deterring shoplifting than a CCTV sign. Train your team to greet every person who walks in.

For high-value items, trading cards, collectibles, premium stationery, locked display cases are a straightforward solution. The friction of having to ask deters casual theft and doesn’t meaningfully deter genuine buyers who want the product.

The data problem

Most newsagents don’t know their actual shrinkage figure. If your stock-on-hand data in your POS is not accurate, you cannot measure what you are losing. Regular stock counts in your high-theft categories are the baseline. If you have never done a specific count on trading cards or confectionery, do one. The number may surprise you.

The employee theft question

Industry data puts employee fraud at 39% of total retail shrinkage. We think it is higher in our channel. That is not a comfortable number to sit with. Random till reconciliations, dual-person authority on refunds, and reviewing transactions for patterns are the basics. If you have never looked, you do not know.

newsXpress helps newsagents with tough issues like theft. It’s part of the kit of services we provide.

Let’s check out Paper salad and Glick at Spring Fair in Birmingham

In this video, we dive into our recent visit to the Spring Fair in Birmingham, where we had the opportunity to explore some of the most exciting trends in the greeting card and gift packaging industries. Accompanied by a group of fellow Australian retailers, we highlight two standout suppliers whose products are making a significant impact on the independent retail market: Paper Salad and Glick.

Visiting the wonderful Harry Brand shop in London

newsXpress hosts retail tours, taking small business Aussie retailers to see innovative retail. Join us on a visit to Harry Brand, an inspiring shop.

Free Practical Advice to Help Australian Independent Retailers Grow

Running a small retail business in Australia requires constant adaptation. Traditional methods often fall short in a rapidly changing market. Finding reliable guidance can be both difficult and expensive.

To help meet this challenge, newsXpress offers a valuable resource. The newsXpress YouTube channel serves as a free public service for the wider retail community. It is designed for all independent small business retailers, not just newsagents.

The channel focuses on practical, real-world advice. The content is free from corporate jargon and expensive seminar pitches. Instead, it provides actionable strategies that store owners can implement immediately.

Several key topics are covered regularly on the channel:

  • The “Across the Street” Audit: Store owners are encouraged to step outside their physical doors. Viewing a shopfront from a customer’s perspective helps identify why passersby might not enter.
  • Frugal Visual Merchandising: Retailers can learn how to create authentic, engaging displays without spending thousands on professional shop fitters. The videos demonstrate how to use secondhand furniture and everyday items to build a warm, inviting atmosphere.
  • Understanding Habit-Based Shopping: Content explores how to transition a business from a mere convenience stop into a local destination. This includes diversifying stock to attract younger demographics and men.
  • Reviewing Sales Data: The channel emphasises the importance of respecting business data. Understanding this information leads to better buying decisions and fewer costly mistakes.

  • Navigating Difficult Situations: Practical guidance is provided for complex retail issues, including managing employee theft and protecting business margins.

The channel delivers honest insights. It challenges the myth of the retail “silver bullet” and instead promotes consistent, local action. Independent retailers have a distinct advantage in their agility, and these videos explain how to leverage that strength.

Taking action on these insights does not require a massive budget or a complete overhaul of your shop. Success in retail often comes down to making small, deliberate improvements every single day.

By spending just a few minutes watching these videos each week, you can gain a fresh perspective on your business and find simple ways to boost your sales. It is about working smarter, protecting your margins, and ensuring your business remains a vital part of your local community.

Whether you run a gift shop, a local newsagency, or an independent boutique, this resource can assist your business. You can access the complete library of practical advice on the newsXpress YouTube Channel.

This free service from newsXpress is another way we demonstrate skill, transparency and commitment, cornerstones of small business retail in Australia.

Thanks for stopping by.

What is the difference between newsXpress and Newspower?

First up, the best way to discover the difference between newsXpress and Newspower is to speak with them. Call them, talk about business, your own situation, what you need, what you hope for from your business.

Ask tough questions. Seek out answers.

Be sure to ask about the most retail experience of the person you speak with, so you have relevance and contextual data for your consideration.

See which one engages with you strategically and in the manner best suited to your needs.

newsXpress and Newspower are very different organisations. They do different things for their members, offer difference benefits.

Newspower is industry owned and run.

newsXpress is privately owned and run.

newsXpress back itself by not having a locked in contract. This says it is not scared about losing members – because members do stay with the group to leverage the benefits available to them.

As we write this blog post, our understanding is that Newspower does have a lock-in contract that binds businesses to the group even if they do not want to be in the group.

This is a huge difference.

Being commercial, newsXpress is focussed on the success of its members. It is answerable to them. The leadership of the group is known to all members and accessible to all members.

Newspower members could ask: who are the board members? can I easily contact them? what is the current retail experience of the board members?

The differences between newsXpress and Newspower are considerable.

Newspower is bigger than newsXpress for sure. Size is not everything though.

If you travel around Australia and look at brand representation, from what we have seen you could find 4, maybe 5 different Newspower logos out in the field. You will only find one newsxpress logo. There has only ever been one newsXpress logo.

The consideration of logo is important though for it was around 6 years ago that newsxpress started telling its members to not use the newsXpress logo. the newsXpress advice was call your business a name that is meaningful locally. That will deliver more value to you and your local business than a brand that could mean different things in different shops.

This matter of a shop brand has evolved plenty this year. newsXpress actively advising its members to de-couple from the Aussie newsagency channel because of all the negative press out there, all the news stories about newsagency closures.

De-coupling from the newsagency channel is a considered strategy, well documented, carefully planned and financially sound for the future of each local business doing it.

It’s easy to be bland and average. In our opinion that’s what Newspower offers. A check of social media shows this we think.

newsXpress is not a bland offer. It’s energetic, engaging and edgy. We push out members to play outside the fence line for it is out there that they find the blue ocean, a space where they can thrive, and many are thriving.

If you are running a newsagency and are looking for a marketing group, consider newsXpress. We will answer your questions and talk business.

Speak to our CEO, Mark Fletcher, on 0418 321 338 or email him at mark@newsxpress.com.au.

newsXpress and Newspower are very different organisations. Take your time, do your research. Join the group that best serves your needs.

7 shifts in independent retail shaping newsagents in 2026

The morning in a busy newsagency does not look like it did even five years ago. Newspapers are still on the rack. Lottery is still queueing. But the rhythm of the day has changed, and the customers who used to come in for one thing are now coming in for something else entirely. Or not coming in at all.

If you run an independent shop, the question is no longer whether things are changing. It is which of the changes you choose to lean into.

Here are the seven shifts we see most clearly across the newsXpress network in 2026.

1. Magazines are not coming back, and that is not the problem

Magazines have been declining in volume for more than a decade. The retailers who treat the loss of magazine foot traffic as the problem are stuck. The retailers who treat it as freed-up floor space are growing.

The space a slow magazine bay used to occupy can deliver three to five times the gross profit when it is reset to a category that suits your customers. The decision is not whether to do this. It is which category, and how soon.

2. Lottery has moved to the phone

Online lottery purchase is now the default for a meaningful share of regular players. The over-the-counter draw is not gone, but it is smaller. The smart response is not to chase the lost revenue. It is to use the freed counter time and counter space to drive higher-margin sales to the customers still walking in.

3. The card category is consolidating around fewer, better suppliers

Greeting cards remain one of the most profitable categories in the shop. What has changed is that the right pocket plan now matters more than the total pocket count. Independent retailers running a disciplined two-supplier model are routinely outperforming retailers carrying three or four suppliers across more pockets.

We have documented card revenue lifts of 33%, 50%, 70% and 76% in newsXpress shops that recast their card mix on evidence. Floor space stayed the same. Capital tied up went down. Revenue went up.

4. Coins and collectibles have become a real revenue line

Five years ago, coins were a curiosity in most shops. Today, in shops that have learnt how to merchandise and recommend them, coins are a meaningful weekly revenue line. We have seen shops go from $0 to $50,000 a year in coin sales.

The trend is not about coin collectors. It is about gift-givers. The gift buyer who walks past a beautifully presented commemorative coin set is a buyer the supermarket cannot serve.

5. Click and Collect is expected, not innovative

Local retailers who do not offer a way to reserve, pay for or pick up a product online are conceding a class of customer. Click and Collect does not need to be a Shopify build. It can start as an Instagram message and a held item under the counter. What matters is that the option exists and that local customers know it.

6. AI has moved from novelty to daily tool

The retailers using AI in 2026 are not the retailers with technical skills. They are the retailers who started with one task — writing a Facebook post, replying to a Google review, summarising a sales report — and built from there. Five minutes a day, repeated, has become a real productivity gain.

We have been helping newsXpress members use AI for more than two years and have published an exclusive AI toolkit for our members covering the everyday tasks where AI saves time and improves decisions. The toolkit details are members-only, but the principle is not: AI works best when you treat it as a fast, helpful colleague who needs to be told about your specific shop.

7. The marketing group itself is being reset

Independent retailers are reassessing what their marketing group actually does for them. The old model — supplier discounts and a quarterly catalogue — is no longer enough. The retailers who are growing belong to groups that are active partners: groups that will sit down with you, look at your numbers, and tell you what to change.

That is the difference between a directory of suppliers and a partnership.

What this means for your shop

The seven shifts are not coming. They are here. The retailers who lean into them are growing 10% to 20% a year. The retailers who do not are slipping at about the same rate.

We can help you work through any of the seven, starting with whichever one is most pressing for you.

If any of this resonated, we would be happy to talk. There is no obligation, and no sales script. Just a conversation about your shop.

Mark Fletcher 0418 321 338  mark@newsxpress.com.au Michael Elvey 0400 331 055 michael@newsxpress.com.au www.newsxpress.com.au

The card pocket conversation most newsagents NEVER have

Most newsagents inherit a card plan. The supplier set it up. The previous owner accepted it. Year after year, the same range refills the same pockets, and the same revenue comes out the other end. Or, more often, slightly less revenue each year.

There is a conversation hiding inside that pocket plan that most retailers never have. It is the conversation that has lifted card revenue by 33%, 50%, 70% and 76% in newsXpress shops that did have it.

Why the total card sales number hides the story

If you only look at the headline card revenue, the picture is usually flat. What is hidden inside that flat number is a wide spread of pocket performance. Some pockets are paying their rent five times over. Others are paying nothing.

The retailers who outperform are the ones who can see the spread, not just the average. That is what pocket-level analysis exposes.

The signal we look for

In every shop we audit, the bottom 25% of pockets typically generate less than 5% of card revenue. They occupy floor space. They tie up capital. They cost time to refill. They do not pay their way.

The bottom 25% is also the easiest 25% to fix. You do not need new fixtures. You do not need a renovation. You need an evidence-based decision on what to remove, what to replace it with, and which supplier deserves more of your floor.

Four examples of what happens when the conversation is had

Each of these is a real newsXpress shop:

  • One shop moved 120 pockets from one supplier to another. Pocket return more than doubled. Same floor space, same staff, more cash in the bank.
  • One shop moved from a single-supplier model to a split model and cut total pockets by 25%. Card revenue went up 33%.
  • One shop split cards across two suppliers without any capital investment. Card revenue went up 70%.
  • One shop quit the $2 card range entirely and recast the everyday mix. Card revenue went up 50%.

These are not theoretical numbers. They are documented outcomes from shops that ran their own audit, made their own decisions, and watched their own revenue lift.

A 30-day test you can run yourself

Even without help, there is a useful exercise you can do in your own shop:

  • Pull last 12 months of card sales by pocket from your POS.
  • Sort pockets from best to worst by revenue per pocket per month.
  • Mark the bottom 25%. These are your candidates for change.
  • Walk the card bay and look at those candidates. Are they on a poor sight line? Wrong supplier for the occasion? Wrong price point? Tired range?
  • Pick the five worst. Replace them with content from your strongest-performing supplier in an adjacent occasion.
  • Watch the result for 30 days.

Most retailers find that even a small recast lifts revenue noticeably within a month. The reason is that the floor space is being used to display product that customers actually buy.

The conversation to have with your supplier

When you are ready to have it, the conversation is direct and reasonable. You are buying floor space from yourself. The supplier is renting that floor space from you. If a pocket is not paying, it should not be there.

Suppliers who are good partners welcome this conversation, because they would rather have fewer pockets that perform than more pockets that do not. Suppliers who push back on the conversation are telling you something important about the partnership.

Where newsXpress fits

We run pocket-level performance analysis as part of newsXpress membership. The analysis is built on proprietary intellectual property and is unique to our group. It is not a sales pitch for a supplier — it is an honest evidence base for a decision that is yours.

We do this work because the card category is one of the highest-margin categories in any shop, and the difference between an inherited plan and an audited plan can be tens of thousands of dollars a year.

On implementing newsXpress’s advice on cards, I saw 76% growth over 12 months. Their strategies and guidance contributed to an overall sales increase of 57% during the same period.

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Matt Donkin, newsXpress Mount Lawley, WA

What it would mean for your shop

If your card revenue has been flat or sliding for a couple of years, the cost of having the conversation is one phone call. The cost of not having it is more of the same.

If you would like to know what your shop’s card analysis would show, we are happy to walk you through it.

Mark Fletcher  0418 321 338  mark@newsxpress.com.au Michael Elvey  0400 331 055  michael@newsxpress.com.au www.newsxpress.com.au

AI and small business retail – what’s actually working in store

Walk into a busy newsagency or gift shop on a Tuesday morning, and AI is not the first thing on the owner’s mind. The till is the first thing. The supplier delivery is the second. The rostered casual who has not turned up is somewhere in the top five.

But sit with that owner at four o’clock, and the conversation has shifted. The Facebook post for tomorrow has not been written. The end-of-week stock review has not been done. The Google review from the angry customer last Friday has not been replied to.

This is where AI is genuinely working for independent retailers in 2026. Not in the headlines. In the four o’clock list.

The simplest way to think about AI

The most useful framing we have found for retailers who are AI-curious but cautious is this: AI is a fast, helpful colleague who has never been to your shop.

It can write. It can think through a problem. It can save you time on admin. It cannot replace your judgement, and it does not know your specific shop, your customers or your local community unless you tell it.

That single shift in framing — from “complicated technology” to “helpful colleague” — is what unlocks daily use for most owners.

Where it is working

The retailers we work with at newsXpress are getting the most value from AI in three areas:

  • Writing — social media posts, customer review replies, supplier emails, gift guides, in-store signage and staff notices. Tasks that used to take 30 minutes can take three.
  • Thinking through a problem  pasting a sales report into AI and asking what to buy more of, what to cut, and what is coming up seasonally. Pasting a competitor’s price into AI and asking how to respond. Pasting a difficult customer message into AI and asking for a professional reply.
  • Time-saving on the daily grind  the end-of-week review that used to never get done, the new staff member checklist that used to be hand-written from scratch, the Mother’s Day display copy that used to be improvised on the day.

Each task on its own saves five to thirty minutes. Done weekly, it adds up to hours every month that go back into the shop instead of into the back office.

Where AI is not the answer

There are limits, and being honest about them matters.

  • AI does not know your customers. You have to brief it.
  • AI can be confidently wrong. Always read the output before you use it.
  • AI cannot make the decision for you. It gives you a starting point.
  • AI does not replace the conversation with the supplier, the customer, or the staff member. It just helps you prepare for it.

A retailer who treats AI as a starting point usually gets value. A retailer who treats it as the answer usually gets caught out.

What we are doing at newsXpress

We have been helping our members work with AI for more than two years. Our approach has three parts.

A members-only AI toolkit. We have built and published an exclusive toolkit of nineteen ready-to-use AI tasks, written in plain English, designed specifically for independent retailers in our network. The toolkit covers the everyday work — social posts, customer replies, sales analysis, supplier emails, weekly reviews — and it is free for our members. The detailed prompts and approach are intellectual property we keep for our members.

Super prompts on member data. For specific situations, we run more detailed AI work on member business data they share with us. This is not generic advice — it is evidence-based output from your actual numbers.

Member meetings to share what is working. We host regular AI-focused member meetings where retailers share their own stories — what they tried, what worked, what did not. This is how the practice gets better. Retailers learning from retailers.

The combined effect is that our members are making better business decisions, faster business decisions, seeing opportunities they had not seen before, and creating new revenue streams. AI is genuinely a game-changer for those leaning in.

How to start tomorrow morning

If you have never used AI in your shop, the most useful starting move is small.

  • Pick one task you do every week that you find tedious. Writing the social post. Replying to the Friday review. Drafting the supplier chase-up email.
  • Open one of the free AI tools (claude.ai, chat.openai.com, gemini.google.com or copilot.microsoft.com).
  • Tell it the name of your shop, your suburb, who your customers are, and what you want.
  • Read the output. Edit it. Use it.

Five minutes invested. One job ticked off. The next time it takes three minutes. The time after that, two.

That is the starting point. Everything else builds from there.

What this means for your shop

The retailers who are leaning into AI are not the retailers with technical skills. They are the retailers who are willing to spend five minutes on something new on a Tuesday morning. The ones who do not are watching their competitors get faster.

If you would like help making the starting move, we are happy to talk.

Mark Fletcher  0418 321 338  mark@newsxpress.com.au Michael Elvey — 0400 331 055  michael@newsxpress.com.au www.newsxpress.com.au

Why a $350 prize draws more customers than a 20% discount

A regional newsXpress shop ran a Mother’s Day prize giveaway last year. The prize was $350 worth of beautiful Mother’s Day product, displayed on a feature table at the front of the shop. Customers entered by spending in store. The prize was funded centrally by newsXpress, including the marketing collateral.

The shop reported a 20% lift in greeting card sales over the promotion period. New customers walked in. Local people talked about the shop. Existing customers came back twice instead of once.

The interesting part is what the shop did not have to do. It did not discount any product. It did not match a competitor’s offer. It did not train shoppers to wait for the next sale.

This is the story of how Seasonal Edge works, and why it consistently outperforms the discount alternative.

Why discounting is the easy answer that costs you twice

Every retailer feels the pull of a discount when foot traffic slows. It feels active. It feels like you are doing something. The problem is that discounting trains shoppers to wait for the next sale, and it shrinks the gross profit on every transaction during the period.

For most independent retailers, a 20% discount roughly halves the gross profit on the discounted line. To recover the cash you lost on the discount, you have to sell almost double the volume. That rarely happens.

A prize giveaway works differently. The cost is fixed and external. The gross profit on every transaction stays intact. The customer’s reason to engage is the prize, not a markdown.

What Seasonal Edge actually is

Seasonal Edge is a newsXpress promotion run for our members at every major retail season — Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas and other key calendar moments.

The mechanics are simple:

  • newsXpress funds a $350 (or higher value) prize pack for each member shop, made up of beautiful product relevant to the season.
  • newsXpress designs and prints the marketing collateral — in-store posters, entry forms, social media assets.
  • The shop displays the prize, runs the promotion, collects entries from spending customers, and draws a local winner.
  • The winning customer is local. The talk about the shop is local. The new customers are local.

In 2025, newsXpress spent more than $1,500 per member on funding prizes and marketing across the seasons. The cost to the member retailer is nothing.

Why it works

There are a few reasons the format consistently outperforms a discount.

The prize is concrete and visual. A 20% sign on the window is invisible in a busy strip. A beautiful prize display draws the eye and pulls people through the door.

The shop becomes a destination. Locals tell other locals about the prize. The shop becomes the place to enter. The conversation in the suburb shifts.

The promotion brings in new customers. Not just regulars buying more. People who would not have walked in otherwise come in to enter the draw, and many of them spend.

The bonus is the discovery effect. Each member shop tries product on the prize table that they may not have stocked before. Some of those products turn out to be sleepers — strong sellers that get added to the permanent range. The promotion pays once at the till and a second time on the buying plan for the next quarter.

And there is one more effect worth naming. newsXpress members share their displays with each other privately. Photos go up. People see what other shops have done. Ideas travel. The next promotion is better than the last one, because the network is collectively learning.

What you need in place to run a promotion like this

A prize giveaway is not complicated, but it does need a few things to work well:

  • A visible front-of-shop space for the prize display.
  • Entry forms or a digital entry option that captures customer details for follow-up.
  • Staff briefed on how to mention the promotion at the till.
  • A modest social media presence to amplify the prize before and during the promotion.
  • A clear plan for the post-promotion follow-up: a thank-you to entrants, a small offer to keep them returning.

Each of these is achievable for any small shop. None of them require capital investment.

What it would mean for your shop

If your shop is currently relying on discounts to drive traffic at season time, the result is usually flat sales and shrinking margin. Seasonal Edge is one of the simplest ways to break that loop.

It is exclusive to newsXpress members. It costs the member nothing. It puts money in the bank.

Without the guidance and support of newsXpress, in particular the last twelve months, I’m not sure where we would have ended up. The head office team is continually trying to help us improve our businesses.

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Barb Shanahan, newsXpress Lara, VIC

If you would like to know how Seasonal Edge would look in your shop, we are happy to walk you through it.

Mark Fletcher  0418 321 338  mark@newsxpress.com.au Michael Elvey  0400 331 055  michael@newsxpress.com.au www.newsxpress.com.au