This article caught my eye because I have actually cut back on my magazine subscriptions recently. I now subscribe to only TIME magazine and have recently cancelled my Chicago Tribune subscription as well. Are people cutting back because of the economy or are there other reasons, such as other news sources, in play?
Dec 3, 2008
By Lucia Moses
Forrester Research has bad news for publishers who hoped that in tough times, people would continue to spend on relatively affordable purchases like newspaper and magazine subscriptions.
New survey data from the researcher show that among the 72 percent of respondents who said they are magazine subscribers, 77 percent plan no change in their subscriptions in the year ahead, while 18 percent plan to cut back. (An optimistic 4 percent said they expected to increase their subscriptions.)
With heavier readers, the planned cuts go deeper. Among those subscribing to three or four titles, 22 percent plan some cancellations; and of those getting five or more subscriptions, 24 percent plan to scale back.
Newspapers and work-related magazines are less vulnerable to the downturn, according to the survey. Among newspaper subscribers (58 percent of those surveyed), 88 percent said they planned no change in their subscriptions in the coming year, while 10 percent said they planned to cut back. Two percent planned an increase.
As for people who buy magazines mostly for work, 12 percent expected to cut back their subscriptions. Eighty-four percent expected no change and 4 percent planned an increase.
The spirit of frugality cuts across many product categories; only 15 percent of respondents said they have taken no steps to cut spending.
The results come from Forrester’s North American Technographics Media, Marketing, Consumer Technology, Healthcare and Automotive Benchmark Survey of 5,000 households.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/magazines-newspapers/e3i811727a8754c8b9bc82c53e54f66edf4
2 comments:
If you think about it magazines aren't a need...they are a want. I myself am not going to renew some of my magazine subscriptions when they expire. I already have cut back on magazine subscriptions & I intend to cut back even more. I believe that people are cutting back because of the economy. However, I also believe that if the content is not good enough...if they aren't grabbing their readers, it's easier to save the money & not subscribe again.
I think that its going to be hard for newspapers and magazines to keep competing with television and wireless technology. I know that many newspapers and magazines contribute much more important information than most television news shows, but people are not going to be willing to pay for television and print media when they have to reduce spending. It's unfortunate that the recession is going to add to the loss of newspaper and magazine readers.
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