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PRINT: AN ANTIDOTE TO THE DIGITAL WORLD With screens, smartphones and social media ruling supreme today, newspapers, magazines and books offer a welcome, beneficial and rewarding diversion, both for readers and the stores where they buy them. By Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association CEO Ben Kearney. S tatistica estimates that in 2020, more than 3.6 billion people were using social media worldwide, with that number projected to increase to almost 4.41 billion by 2025. Australia is one of the leading countries in smartphone addiction, with research from Deloitte showing we check our phones up to 110 times a day. Alongside the rise of digital is a growing awareness of the impact that too much screen time can have on both our physical and mental health. Documentaries such as Netflix’s The Social Dilemma and endless news stories about tech giants’ bad behaviour have resulted in the nascent recognition of our increasing screen addiction. Thankfully, our newsagents – and convenience stores, which are often their customers for supply of newspapers and magazines – are in the perfect position to offer a solution for screen-fatigued customers. Magazines, newspapers and books offer an increasingly rare form of tactile entertainment and relaxation in our digital world: one that doesn’t involve looking at a screen. Throughout the Covid era, magazine sales have attracted a resurgence of interest and sales, with demand for newspapers also increasing at various points during the crisis as customers look for accurate and in-depth analysis they can’t always find online. In-store marketing of magazines and newspapers should remind customers of the benefits of quality journalism, and of taking a break, sitting down and having a good read. No scrolling necessary. Whether it’s through in-store signage, social media posts, attractive displays or other means, it’s worth reminding customers why print is still the best way to read. Why print? Reducing and managing stress is massively important, especially in the middle of a pandemic. For customers looking to relax, convenience stores might want to highlight the stress- relieving benefits of reading. A 2009 study by the UK’s University of Sussex found that reading for as little as six minutes can reduce stress levels by up to 68 per cent. Reading can also decrease blood pressure and lower the heart rate, both essential elements of long-term good health. Additionally, in a world where touch is banned and social distancing is the norm, what could be better than sitting down and enjoying the tactile feel of flipping through a magazine or newspaper? For customers who take their reading seriously, it might be worth appealing to the memory-enhancing powers of print. Multiple studies have shown that printed materials result in better retention of information compared with their digital equivalents. A 2016 study by US academic Singer Trakhman examined undergraduates’ reading comprehension of digital and print versions of articles. While the format didn’t change their grasp of the main gist of the article, researchers found that their subjects missed details when reading on screens. The business benefit For the newsagency or convenience store itself, the benefits of promoting print are clear. Magazine and newspaper readers are notoriously habitual and will return day in, day out to buy the latest issue of their favourite read. The more that convenience stores can do to encourage and promote this behaviour, the better for their bottom line. Magazines, especially, can become an integral part of readers’ homes and lives, and subsequently, so can the store that sells them. By encouraging brand loyalty to a particular magazine or newspaper, stores are buying into loyalty that will in turn rub off on them. By reminding customers of the benefits of physical print, stores are playing their part in helping their customers avoid the dreaded ‘death scroll’ and return them firmly back into the realm of the physical. So, celebrate your magazines, newspapers and books, and in turn, your customers will, too. In our increasingly digital world, the benefits of embracing print are too numerous to ignore. INDUSTRY INSIGHT About Ben Kearney and Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association Ben Kearney is the CEO of the Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association (ALNA), the peak national industry body for Australia’s newsagents and lottery agents. Representing a significant part of the Australian economy, ALNA advocates for the largest non-franchised family-owned business sector in Australia. For more information visit alna.net.au. MAY/JUN, 2021 CONVENIENCE WORLD 17