Newsstand sales of US magazines plummet as customers avoid impulse buys

Sales of US magazines at newsstands and other retail outlets dropped during the second half of 2008 as readers looked for ways to trim discretionary spending, but overall circulation was largely flat.

In releasing twice-annual circulation figures for magazines, the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) said combined single-copy sales averaged 43,367,098, down 11 per cent from the second half of 2007. The totals are based on all 535 magazines that reported circulation in both 2007 and 2008.

Nineteen of the top 25 newsstand sellers posted declines in the second half of 2008, according to the ABC, including top-selling Cosmo, down 6.2 per cent from the second half of 2007.

Magazine sales about the home, unsurprisingly, plummeted during the real-estate meltdown. In a reversal of recent years' results, however, newsweeklies shone on the newsstand, benefiting from interest in the presidential election. Newsweek, Time and US News all increased newsstand by double digits.

Some celebrity weeklies, meanwhile, fell dramatically - 32 per cent at In Touch, 31 per cent for Life & Style, 21 per cent for US Weekly and 11 per cent for OK. Time Inc.'s People, on the other hand, found another 3 per cent growth. The newsstand plunge also included a 25 per cent fall for O, the Oprah Magazine, a 22-per cent decline for Woman's Day and a 20 per cent drop for Family Circle.

Overall circulation was 345,176,148 during the 2008 period, a 0.9 per cent drop. Subscriptions increased slightly, by 0.5 per cent. Single-copy sales are particularly vulnerable in an economic downturn because they rely on impulse buys at newsstands, supermarket checkout lines and other retail outlets.

Although overall circulation was stable, the drop in single-copy sales translates to less revenue because publishers typically make more from newsstand sales than from subscriptions, which are sold at a discount but help publishers boost circulation totals to lure advertisers. In some cases, publishers break even or take a loss on subscriptions after paying commissions.

The number of advertisement pages in consumer magazines fell 12 per cent last year, compared with 2008, and were down 17 per cent in the fourth quarter, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. Publishers and ad buyers predict continued weakness, at least until late 2009.

Without enough advertising to justify the cost of keeping readership artificially high, several publications have taken a hard look at reducing their rate bases. Bauer Publishing Group announced in November it would cut the guarantees for celebrity titles Life & Style and In Touch, while Newsweek, owned by Washington Post Co., said this week it will cut more than a million copies over the next year from its current rate-base guarantee of 2.6 million.

Cosmopolitan remained the top-selling magazine at newsstands, with 1.8 million single-copy sales, a 6 per cent drop. People was second at 1.5 million, a 3 per cent increase, making it the only major celebrity weekly to show gains. No. 3 Woman's World dropped 7 per cent to 1.2 million.