According to the company, the revamped site comes during a period of substantial sales growth for iSUBSCRiBE, which is riding on the back of the current consumer shift out of retail sales and into subscriptions. The new site features a range of exclusive online subscription deals and earlier this year the company launched a dedicated newspaper area.
Larger cover images and logos dominate the site, giving a complete 'newsagent' feel. Various new promotional spots provide publishers with an area to promote exclusive offers, special promotions and new launches.
Other new elements include a comparison matrix within the site itself for customers to compare and save on various different magazines and their offers. There is also a Top 10 by title, category, day, week and month, showing the best-selling titles of the moment in real time. The introduction of a digital edition of each publication within that title's dedicated webpage allows customers the opportunity for deeper browsing in the decision making process without having to leave the site.
iSUBSCRiBE, which represents over 360 publishers and showcases more than 1,350 magazine and newspaper titles, managed the new website design and IT build in-house as part of a year-long “refresh” project.
iSUBSCRiBE has spent the last two years analysing their customer behaviour and interaction on the site, asking them questions and testing many different browsing elements. The result, says the company, is a fully integrated website that meets the needs of the customers now, and anticipates how users will interact with the site in the future.
iSUBSCRiBE says: “Lying behind the site developments are some fundamental shifts in consumer behaviour. First, it is clear from publisher sales trends that many retail buyers are moving into subscriptions. Linked to that, consumers want more of a newsagent feel to a site like iSUBSCRiBE, where they can browse and compare and spend time rather than just blast in and out for a quick purchase. iSUBSCRiBE is a specialist shop with range, service and personality, not a bare discount warehouse.
iSUBSCRiBE currently has over 350,000 registered customers and attracts around 3 million unique visitors annually. Analysis of user activity on the site shows a high propensity of consumer browsing, for example within the golf category an average of 7 minutes is spent viewing online digital samples of the magazines on offer.
With customers saving up to 91% off prices on the site as well as exclusive offers not available on the newsstand, iSUBSCRiBE has seen dramatic double digit sales growth in the last year with the trend set to continue. Whilst all categories of magazines listed on iSUBSCRiBE are showing subscription sales growth year on year, the two leading the way both with 20% increase are that of Lifestyle and Fashion & Beauty. Meanwhile, the Home & Garden category (up 15%) and Entertainment category (up 9%) are also demonstrating consistent sales growth.
Another key element of the iSUBSCRiBE service is gifting, with nearly 50% of the company's sales being gift subscriptions purchased for other people. All evidence points to there still being massive potential for magazines as presents. It's for this reason that the company invested in a major Christmas gifting campaign which included distributing a print catalogue to nearly 1.5 million UK residents.”
The company also had a major print campaign through The Times & The Sunday Times newspapers. Coupled with pre-paid retail gift cards available through Sainsbury's, ASDA and Morrisons as well as gift vouchers available online via Voucher Express and the iSUBSCRiBE site itself, the company has developed additional offline marketing and retail sales channels. The company says: “We believe that we need a major offline presence in order to reach a bigger audience and to develop our image as a broad-based magazine shop.”
iSUBSCRiBE anticipates increasing its cross-selling potential and developing lead generation through the introduction of over 100 magazines from abroad as well as initiating a dedicated section for related books and guides.
