“Fast and free online magazines are not enough for Americans to sacrifice the convenience associated with traditional paper magazines”. According to a new survey by InsightExpress “Americans still demand that they be able to take their magazines to bed, into the bathroom or on their commute”.
According to the survey there is no significant threat to the magazine industry from online and publishers waiting for readers to change their preference to online are wasting their time.
InsightExpress found that only 32% of internet users read any magazine online. Readers cited inconvenience (54%); dislike of online ads (47%); prices of online magazines (43%) and eye strain (23%) as the main reasons for not reading online magazines.
Of those who regularly read online magazines, only 22% said they actually prefer reading magazines online. 73% stated that they would not forgo their paper magazine for an online alternative, even if offered a 50% reduction in price.
Whilst a majority of respondents (63%) currently pay for a traditional magazine subscription, almost 80% said that they would expect online magazines to be free.
“Given that resources remain scarce, publishers would be better served to cut their losses when it comes to online publications and focus on their readers’ overwhelming preference, high quality paper magazines,” said InsightExpress COO Lee Smith, “any hopes of growing revenue with online magazines seem to be misguided as most readers expect online content to be free.”
The only plus for online magazines discovered by InsightExpress was that 59% of readers believe that online publications provide more timely content (59%) Despite this, only 22% perceive that online magazines provide higher quality content than their print versions.
“Though online magazines have an advantage in that they can deliver real-time news and information, they don’t stand a chance when competing for a reader’s undivided attention,” concluded Smith. “Online publications are not the magic bullet publishers were hoping for to retain readership.”
