So yet again, we have the latest ABC figures at our fingertips. And in general the magazine market place has fared well. We were slightly worried, bearing in mind the problems most publishers had with distribution in December due to the weather, but I am sure many publishers are breathing a sigh of relief right now. So period on period, using UK Actively purchased figures, here is how the main sectors fare:-

In the women's monthly sector, the older women's sector has managed well but in the young women's category, they yet again show what a fickle bunch they can be. Men's mags in general haven't had the horrific steep decline that they have had of late, but the decline continues nonetheless.
In the women's weekly sector, the TV listings mags have followed the success of TV viewing figures and have overall posted a slight increase. The traditional women's weeklies are pretty static and with the exception of Love it! magazine, the real life titles have fallen by approx 3% period on period. Perhaps consumers feel that they have enough drama in their lives to not need to read about anyone else's!

The celebrity sector has suffered, largely due to the lack of a newsworthy celebrity or any new gossip-led events or stories. The fashion and luxury market has posted a healthy increase driven by Elle, Vogue and Vanity Fair, and a real understanding of what their readers want. The home interest sector has remained static, although there are some big winners such as House Beautiful, and some big losers such as BBC Good Homes.
The new coalition government, student protests, low interest rates and rising inflation have led to a greater thirst for knowledge, and so titles such as The Economist and The Week have benefited again. The teen titles, music titles, gaming titles all continue to suffer as consumers are finding their content mainly for free online.

The whole report can be viewed here

http://newsletter.beyondinteraction.co.uk/images/other/ABCreport.pdf