With talk of publishing houses upping their digital offerings even more in 2015, it’s interesting to see how the digital editions of magazines fared in the December Audit Bureau of Circulations.
It was good news for Taste.com.au and Vogue Australia, which clocked increases of 78.9 per cent and 16.8 per cent respectively year on year in the December half. Better Homes and Gardens recorded a big jump, going from 580 a year earlier to 3957 in December.
The news wasn’t as good across the board, with digital-only sales of The Australian Women’s Weekly falling 25.3 per cent, donna hay down 13.1 per cent, and SuperFoodIdeas recording a decline of 16.9 per cent. Men’s Health and Zoo Weekly also recorded decreases.
“Generally around the world, replica or even enhanced models have found that growth has stymied. That’s not a portent for disaster. It’s just a signal that readers have a different experience with the digital edition than with the magazine,” Pacific Magazine chief executive Peter Zavecz told The Australian.
“[The downturn in print] didn’t affect us as quickly as newspapers. [Consumer] uptake [of digital editions] hasn’t been as strong as it could have been and we’re working through that. What magazines haven’t done is bundle like newspapers. Probably the next phase for growth is going to be by the bundle. It may be complementary content in the digital version.”
