I spoke to some retailers last year about how worried they were about e-readers, such as Amazon's Kindle, and the impact it would have on their business. Most looked at me blankly.

Software company Adobe has now developed AIR, which allows magazine publishers to sell their magazines on to devices like the iPhone. Condé Nast is reportedly going to offer its Wired magazine in the US in this format. At the same time, HP is offering US publishers the ability to print magazines on demand.

Who will buy this? Probably your most loyal magazine shoppers, based on my sample size of one. Today, on my train into work, I bumped into a man using an e-reader. His company had invested in them so that staff could review reports. They don't work for that. But he now downloads novels and reads two a week on his reader. Previously, he was buying two a week from a bookshop.

What can the owner of a local shop do? Lots, in other words, if you think about it and it makes you a profit. Find out who your most loyal magazine customers are and pamper them. Make their visit to your shop a must have experience.