Every year, traditional newspaper sales decrease by significant margins. Print magazines are feeling the sting as well. With the exception of fashion magazines like Vogue, magazine sales have declined by 10% for the first 6 months of the year. The magazine industry has attempted to respond to the decline in sales by initiating sleek, creative digital magazines available for consumers on multiple devices like computers, smartphones, and touchpads. According to the Alliance for Audited Media, 10.2 million digital magazines were distributed in 2013 (almost double the amount distributed in 2012). Still, digital magazine sales only make up 3.3% of total magazine circulations.
So what gives? We’ve seen many industries that previously relied on print make the move to an online model, and stay in business or even experience an increase in sales. Some in the magazine industry partially blame iPad and tablet creators for not providing the type of technological support that would enable better integration of digital magazine distribution. Others believe that the decline of magazine sales is a natural consequence of a digital age where consumers no longer rely on magazines for information or entertainment. Instead, they turn to the internet for news and entertainment.
The real reasons for the slow distribution of online magazines may be a combination of all of these issues or none of them. Regardless, publishers still must deal with some very real, hard-hitting numbers. While the digital distribution of magazines averages around 10 million per month, the majority of those sales only go to a handful of magazines like Game Informer Magazine and Reader’s Digest.
But there is some good news for online magazines. Ad sales are up by 25% so far, though digital ads are still not bringing in as much cash as print ads do. One possible explanation could be that digital magazines still don’t have the reach of their offline counterparts.
Magazine Sales Merchant Account
Although traditional magazines are having a difficult time transitioning to digital platforms, many entrepreneurs have found success by creating and publishing their own online magazines for niche audiences. eMerchantBroker.com provides top-of-the-line magazine sales merchant accounts that enable your business to process credit and debit payments. Without a merchant account, you wouldn’t be able to process popular means of payment like MasterCard, Visa, or American Express.
Get started today by clicking on the button below