Worldwide sales of consumer magazines were up by 100 million copies or 7.4% year on year in 2005, with the industry recording its highest rate of growth in sales for decades between 2004 and 2005.
According to the World Advertising Resource Centre’s new
Advertising Statistics Yearbook, more than 1.4 billion magazines were sold last year, with magazine sales having increased year-on-year continuously since 2000.
The boost in sales is attributed to the continued growth of the weekly magazine market. Total annual sales rose by 15.5% year on year to more than a million, the highest sales levels since 1989.
Weeklies now account for 71.5% of all magazine sales, up from 68.2% in 2000. This growth comes despite a robust increase in average cover price, which rose by 10% in real terms between 2000 and 2005.
The combined effect of higher cover prices and increased sales meant that consumer expenditure on weeklies has risen by 27% in real terms over the same period.
Sales of national newspapers have fallen, as have television and radio revenues, but consumer magazines appear to be bucking the generally depressed trend across the media.
Phil Cutts, director of marketing at PPA Marketing, said: “These figures speak for themselves. Despite constant upheaval in the media marketplace, consumer magazines continue to go from strength to strength.
“The market is continuously evolving to ensure magazines carry on appealing to their target audience. The Advertising Statistic Yearbook shows we’ve succeeded, which is great news for both publishers and magazine advertisers.”
The global media and entertainment industry is forecast to be hitting a period of growth (see Solid Growth Forecast For Media Industry).
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