The thousand biggest U.S. newsstand titles saw 6.1% drop in sales in Q2 of 2016

The sales of single magazine copies in the U.S. proceeds apace, according to a story posted on MediaPost.

According to MagNet, in dollar terms, total magazine newsstand sales for the thousand biggest titles in the U.S. and Canada fell 6.1% from $571.2 million in the second quarter of 2015 to $536.3 million in the second quarter of 2016, while the number of units sold at newsstand tumbled 10.9% from 108.5 million to 96.6 million. 

For the year to date, total magazine sales fell 6.2% from $1.16 billion in the first half of 2015 to $1.09 billion in the first half of 2016. In terms of units, newsstand activity for the top thousand titles fell 10.8% from 220.4 million magazines sold to 196.7 million over the same period.

Weekly celebrity and women’s titles together dropped 14.3% in unit sales and 12% in dollar sales. Some categories -- in food and wine, games, puzzles and crosswords, recreation, lifestyle and science collectively saw total unit sales up 3% and dollar sales up 10%.

What to do about the newsstand? Publishers and everyone else want to know

The CMC is holding a seminar and social in Toronto Thursday Jan 28 about how to fix the newsstand. It's not the first time that the association has asked that or similar questions, but now it wants to confront the challenges of 2016. 

What has changed in the industry that will help restore newsstand sales? Are promotions essential? What sell-thru rate should publishers expect and what can be done to increase this? When should a new magazine go on the newsstand and when should a magazine drop out? What can Publishers do to advance their products at the newsstand in today’s environment? How do we make ourselves more viable in the eyes of our retail partners? How do we protect and possibly grow our space at retail?

The panelists will be

• Craig Sweetman, Owner of CRS Media
• Jerry Lynch, President of IPDA
• Pat Strangis, Director Newsstand Marketing at TVA
• Anita Baldwinson, Manager of Retail Services & Marketing at TNG

The event is at the Minto Quantum South Tower, 2181 Yonge Street, Toronto from 3:30 to 5 p.m., with the social immediately afterwards. Free to CMC members. Non-members$25 for the seminar; $10 social only.

Newssstand sales continue decline; Canadian single copy dollars down 13.2% in first half

Single copy magazine sales in Canada and the U.S. in the first half of 2015 continue their long-term decline, according to data compiled by MagNet, which tracks both wholesaler and retail sales. and reported by MediaPost, 

While MagNet cautions that some of the figures have had to be estimated, due to the closure of U.S.-based distributor Source Interlink last year and lack of results from the Barnes & Noble bookstore chain. Nevertheless, the trend is clear. Preliminary data for July and August suggests that sales in the second half of the year may be even worse than in the first half. For the full year, MagNet forecasts total newsstand sales of around $2.5 billion, around half of the figure for 2007.
Comparing first 6 months of 2015 with same period in 2014:

• U.S. total volume of magazines shipped were down 2.6% to 784 million
• U.S. volume of issues declined 18.5% to 207.5 million
• U.S. dollar volume of sales fell 13.9% to $1.11 billion
• Canadian total distribution down 16.3% to 97.7 million
• Canadian issues sold down 16.8% to 29.3 million
• Canadian dollar value of sales down 13.2% to $178.7 million

In terms of specific categories, some of the biggest drops in newsstand sales volumes were seen in crafts, down 33.1% to 2.7 million issues sold; automotive, down 26.8% to 5.7 million; sports, down 23% to 4.7 million; entertainment, down 21.6% to 6.9 million; women’s, down 20.6% to 51.9 million; and celebrity, down 18.9% to 62 million...

On that note MagNet pointed to certain self-reinforcing negative dynamics in the marketplace, most notably many retailers’ decision to cut back on the amount of space and prominence they allocate to newsstand displays. 

Second thoughts about single copy sales comparisons

Last week, in reporting sudden editorial management changes at Canadian Living,a post here referred to the recent circulation data to suggest that the drop in single copy sales may have somehow contributed to the departure of editor-in-chief Jennifer Reynolds and art director Stephanie White: 

"There have been no reasons given for the departure of the CL editorial team, and no public announcement, but it may not be entirely coincidental that the most recent newsstand sales numbers declined by 13.9%, something vitally important for a title which places such emphasis on the checkout. (During the same period competitor Chatelaine saw single copy sales increase 17.6%.)"

However a friend who is knowledgeable about such things points out that the detailed audit data from the AAM tells a different story than the publicly available topline data. Newsstand sales, in other words, may have had nothing to do with these key departures at TC Media.

For instance, the figures show that, in a fair comparison, Canadian Living outsold Chatelaine 2:1 on the newsstand: 

• Chatelaine had 117,883 single copy sales, of which 42,943 were single issue in-store sales, plus another 50,000 sponsored per issue (which means someone paid at least a penny a copy for these to be reported as paid.) And there were 24,940 reported as digital replicas, which could be someone opening up an issue on Next Issue. Chatelaine single issues went from 49,417 in June 2013 to 42,943 this year, a decline of 13%.
• Canadian Living had 85,033 in single issue sales and 256 digital replicas, without such devices as sponsored circulation. It went from 98,950 in June 2013 to 85,033 this year, a decline of 14%.