We consumers have our guilty pleasures. One of them is reading magazines, both online and in print. The new Mequoda Consumer Magazine study shows who is reading what type of magazine. Here’s what your clients need to know.

The Mequoda survey covered 3,358 U.S. adults. Top level findings indicate just over an 11% drop in the number of consumers who read print magazines, compared to two years ago. The survey also found an 8.5% increase in the number of U.S. adults who read digital magazines.

Print Magazines

The audience for print magazines continues to dwindle. But, consumers regularly turn to this format. According to Mequoda’s research, nearly 19% of U.S. adults have read two print magazines in the past 30 days. Another 11% have read three print titles during the same time period. The bottom line is over 62% of U.S. adults read print magazines on a regular basis.

Digital Magazines

We all know consumers love to access free content. They’re also willing to pay for quality content. At least 25% of U.S. adults will pay for online access to magazines this year. In total, spending for this access will add up to $2.3 billion. Three years ago, this kind of spending amounted to $1.9 billion.

If you’re selling magazine media space, tout your tech tools to potential advertisers. Consumers expect specific qualities when they read magazines online. On a scale of 1 to 5, readers care about:

• Readable text 5
• Scrollable text 4
• Links to websites 3
• Back issue library 3
• Content bookmarking 3

Magazine readers also have an opinion about how many articles should appear in each issue. For nearly half of readers, 48.5%, 10 or fewer articles works best.

Remind your clients that the magazine format still appeals to consumers. Specifically, older consumers greatly prefer reading print magazines. To learn more about the demographics of consumers who read specific kinds of titles, access the AudienceSCAN profiles available on AdMall from SalesFuel. Share this data with your clients and help them increase sales through magazine advertising.