Half of UK population now reading digital magazines and newspapers

More than one in two Brits have bought and read digital magazines in 2013, up from one in three last year, according to new research by lekiosk.

The ‘Zines on Screens’ report, which surveyed 2,000 consumers nationwide, found that one in 20 Brits have purchased digital magazines this year, with this rising to one in ten among 18-24 year olds.

Accessing magazines on a single issue basis is slightly greater than those that actively take out subscriptions – 14% and 6%, respectively – and one in five is more likely to subscribe to a digital magazine on a buy-one-get-one-free basis.

lekiosk also polled Brits on potential improvements to digital magazine formats and discovered that more than one in ten Brits would like adverts in digital magazines to be interactive.

In addition to this, almost a fifth would like to see more video content, while 15% care about having the ability to share digital magazine articles with friends.

Overall, the study found that 40% of Brits prefer to consume digital magazines that are ‘exact replicas’ of their print counterparts.

The research also demonstrates how popular tablet devices are when it comes to reading digital editions, with almost one in five (19%) of consumers now reading magazines on a tablet – up significantly from one in 20 in 2012.

“When it comes to reading magazines, the future is digital – and the hardware that’s taking us into that future is the tablet,” said Nathaniel Philippe, one of the founders of lekiosk.

“Crucially, the magazine publishers that reap the biggest rewards from the digital magazine reading revolution will be those that innovate on the traditional magazine subscription model – and on the existing digital magazine format.

“Publishers need to start working on these new formats now: the UK’s love affair with the magazine is as alive as ever – but digital magazines have never been as much a part of that as they are now.”

Philippe also commented on the growing interest in digital magazines that are produced abroad.

“Digital magazines are easily exported across borders and continents and we’ve seen quite a few users from countries where we don’t source magazines download our apps to get access to the magazines from the countries where we are working with publishers,” he said.

“We’re seeing the start of a trend which could see the digitisation of magazine content drive the globalisation of a wide range of magazines.”

However, despite the rapid digital cannibalisation of print, as evidenced in the latest ABC Consumer findings, it is clear that print is still at the core of many businesses.

At the PPA Conference last month, Grazia’s editor-in-chief Jane Bruton and TopGear’s editor-in-chief Charlie Turner were both quick to defend their print mediums.

“There will always be a place for magazines,” said Bruton, with Turner adding that magazines are for “expanded and more interesting content that has more value,” before explaining that TopGear often reserves exclusive content as a reward for loyal readers.

lekiosk is an iOS, Android, and Windows 8 app that allows consumers to purchase magazines from a rotating 3D news-kiosk.