Q: Why is consumer data so important?
A: Consumer data is important for several reasons. Used in conjunction with sales data, it informs our retail marketing plans and enables us to make fact-based decisions.
It allows us to understand as much as possible about newsstand magazine shoppers, such as their demographics, what they love about magazines and the in-store experience, and what barriers they face to purchasing.
It also allows us to understand more about their behaviour (and how that behaviour might be changing) so that we can work with publishers to make sure that their magazine products continue to meet consumer needs at the right price and in the right retailers.
There are many different sources of consumer data. Among the most popular is grocery store card data which provides a fascinating overview into things such as the consumer profile and repeat purchase rate of a given title, as well as insight into the other products or magazines consumers are buying.
From analysing grocery store card data, we know that for many magazines, often only a small proportion of very loyal shoppers is responsible for upwards of 50% of the sales.
In addition to this, Seymour continues to invest in annual consumer research projects and from these we know that many newsstand consumers aren’t interested in becoming subscribers because they enjoy the in-store browsing experience, and they value the ability to choose which magazine they buy (or even the choice to walk away and buy nothing).
All of which poses the question — how do we stay engaged with these loyal shoppers who are so important to the success of a title and the future of the overall magazine category yet have no interest in becoming subscribers? And of course, consumer data itself helps us to answer this question!
Q: What changes have you noticed in consumer behaviour?
A: Consumer behaviour is constantly evolving in response to the state of the world. The overarching theme when looking at magazine consumer behaviour over a number of years has been the increased competition for their time — people don’t get bored like they used to so there is often less of a need for them to seek out magazines in store. Plus, increasingly time poor consumers will often spend less time browsing in store. Therefore, the importance of marketing to consumers before they are in store and reminding them of the positive benefits of magazines is only going to continue to grow.
More recently, in response to the cost-of-living crisis, the way people shop has shifted significantly. Not only are we seeing a continuation of the trend of shopping at discounters but we’ve also seen a huge rise in the number of people using retailer loyalty schemes and buying products at discounted prices. All of this means that consumers are more savvy than ever before and on the lookout for value for money.
There are so many ways that publishers can deliver value for money without discounting prices — for instance, via exclusive or expert content, multi-packs, reader offers, changes to quality and added value. This provides a major opportunity for publishers who have an amazing ability to pivot their product better than any other category.
Q: What are the growth trends in the magazine category?
A: There are so many! Over a third of the top 1,000 regular frequency titles are currently showing growth. Predictably, news & current affairs titles are in growth this year as people seek out expert opinions to make sense of the world around them. And conversely, puzzles, craft and colouring titles are typically doing well, perhaps as consumers seek to be distracted and entertained.
The children’s magazine sector continues to go from strength to strength and, amazingly, the retail sales value of this sector in 2024 is +122% versus the year 2000.
As well as permanent higher cover prices, one of the trends we’re seeing that is driving growth is premium priced issues, both across regular frequency magazines as well as bookazines.
Q: What advice can you give publishers with regards to cover price strategy?
A: Knowing whether to increase the cover price of a magazine and by how much can often be a tricky issue for publishers to navigate. When we advise whether to increase or hold a cover price, there are a few key areas that we look at. These include:
- How is the title performing versus the overall magazine category and the specific sector in which it sits?
- The strength of the brand — is the brand well-known or recognisable to consumers?
- What are competitors priced at and how are they performing?
- Does the title have a major point of difference versus competitors?
- Is the same content available online, or are the expert writers and / or the curation of the content exclusive to the magazine?
- What is the consumer demographic of the title? Typically, higher affluence consumers will be less price sensitive.
Of course, there are other factors at play too, such as the frequency, quality and pagination of the product.
When a cover price increases, we often see a dip in sales. This is true across most other categories — consumer demand for goods generally falls when prices rise. However, a successful price increase will still lead to an increase in retail sales value and profit, despite a drop in sales. The extent of the fall in sales can be further impacted if the price increase takes the cover price above a ‘psychological price barrier’. For instance, when a price ending in 95p or 99p is increased above the round pound mark. In these scenarios, special care must be taken and, if an increase is appropriate, we generally advise increasing the price by a certain percentage to ensure that the outcome is positive.
Above all, if consumers perceive that a magazine is good value for money then the price itself is less of an issue.
Q: What’s in the pipeline from Seymour?
A: 2025 looks set to be another exciting year for Seymour with a new consumer research project on the horizon which will help us to stay on top of evolving consumer trends.
About us
Seymour supplies over 60 million copies of magazines into retailers across the UK and Ireland each year; representing over 100 independent publishers and more than 1,400 magazines and bookazines.
Internationally, we export magazines to over 70 territories and import international magazines into the UK from the US and Europe.
We work with independent publishers to understand their objectives and design and implement circulation strategies to get them to market. Our effective relationships across retail multiples, wholesale and overseas networks, coupled with dynamic supply management systems and consumer insight, elevate our publishers amongst the rest.
We understand we sit in a pivotal area between publishers, retailers and supply chain providers and, therefore, want to utilise our influential position in the value chain to promote and amplify positive change.
Email: danielle.colley@seymour.co.uk
Website: frontline-group.co.uk/seymour
