According to the Direct Marketing Association’s annual survey, the inserts market in 2011 grew by 10 per cent with Sunday papers seeing a 31 per cent increase.
NFRN National President Alan Smith (pictured) said: “Advertising inserts are the bane of NFRN members’ lives. By adding to the weight of the newspapers and magazines, these inserts incur extra costs as newsagents have to pay for extra news deliverers or for additional rounds.
“While publishers do now reward newsagents for handling such inserts, in most instances the payment only comes into effect when the insert weighs 70g or more and still falls short of what retailers really need.”
The Daily Mail is the only newspaper that pays newsagents on a cumulative basis, i.e. if there are a number of inserts that together weigh 70g or more.
To make matters worse, says the NFRN, commenting on the survey, the vice chairman of the DMA’s Insert Council, Steve Hickman, said that retailers were seeing the benefits with inserts being produced to encourage customers to engage online.
Responding, Mr Smith said: “So not only do these inserts cause independent retailers who home deliver more work and cost, they are actively encouraging customers to turn their backs on their town centres in favour of purchasing on line.
"In other instances the publishers use these inserts to promote their own subscription offers or their own delivery schemes or publicise partworks with tempting gifts which are not available through traditional newsagents."
He continued: “The NFRN will continue to lobby publishers for a lowering of the qualifying rate threshold for payment and to ensure that independent newsagents are properly rewarded for third party inserts.”
