End of the road for print edition of Auto Trader
Trader Media Group has announced that it has completed its transition to an online digital business and will publish the final edition of its entire magazine portfolio next month.
Auto Trader, Top Marques, Truck and Plant, Van Trader and Farm Trader will all continue online, but print versions, which have all seen declines in sales over the last ten years, will cease.
Trader Media Group says the move is part of a strategy to migrate all its activities to digital platforms, as motorists and dealers move online to access information and buy and sell vehicles.
The final issues of the magazines will be published on 28 June 2013 and will be available in a five page front cover pull out collector’s edition, featuring the most popular cars from the last 36 years.
Circulation of the print edition of Auto Trader has declined from a peak of 368,000 in January 2000 to 27,000 in March 2013, whereas there have been positive levels of growth across the digital platforms, with mobile up 67%, tablet up 130% and desktop increasing 13% year-on-year.
Autotrader.co.uk receives over 11 million unique visitors each month to its website and over three and a half million access the mobile site.
TMG says it is further strengthening its multi-channel digital offering with the launch of a new mobile service that allows individuals to sell their car directly from a smartphone.
In 2012, Autotrader.co.uk also launched an interactive magazine, Ignition, which provides the latest car news and features for Apple devices.
“Trader Media Group’s magazines have played a key role in the Group’s 36 year heritage and we are very proud of the market position our brands have achieved during that period,” said Zillah Byng Maddick, Interim CEO at TMG.
“With a marked shift by consumers and dealers to online platforms as a means of accessing information and buying and selling vehicles, we continue to innovate to ensure that we offer them the products and services they require through their channels of choice.”
The latest Consumer ABC figures, released at the start of the year, show declines across many consumer print brands.
“Every six months we are going to see print circulations decrease further and further for the majority of titles,” said Zoe Bale Head of Press, Carat UK in February. “As media continues to evolve and platforms proliferate and develop we will consistently see audiences migrate to other touch points.
“As print brands move further into the digital world and increase the number of brand extensions the printed circulation figure will become less significant. What is more interesting is the overall brand reach and how consumers are engaging with the brands on different platforms.”