List rental prices levelling off

Prices for list rentals -- used by magazine publishers, among others, to reach new audience -- have levelled off and in some cases have declined because of soft demand, according to information from the Worldata List Price Index, reported by the magazine Audience Development.

Permission-based email b-to-b is the highest-priced category, with a straight average price of $288/M, a decrease of $11/M from last year.

Public sector ranks the second highest-priced category range, with straight average prices of $174/M, increasing $4/M from last year.

Donors remains the lowest-priced category with an average list price of $84/M, increasing $1/M over last year.

“This quarter we are noticing prices within many of the categories have started to level-off, a sign of the times that the economy is attempting to stabilize,” Ray Tesi, SVP, Worldata, said in a statement. “I think it is important to note that although there is a huge difference from last summer to now, from quarter-to-quarter we are starting to see prices even out. Consumer email files are still dropping, showing the most price activity from last summer to this summer. The consumer market is still evolving in order to keep marketers interested.”

The index provides a comparison of list prices during any given 12-month period and tacking price fluctuations, as cost per thousand (CPM), for lists in various categories.