Inside Scoop

Sales of U.S. fashion magazines plummeted in the first half of 2008.

Vogue’s newsstand sales dropped 14.8%. Marie Claire’s dropped 12.1%. W was down 10.4%. Allure was down 9.6%; Glamour 9.2%; Elle 6.3% and Cosmopolitan 6.1%.

Lucky was luckier than most, dropping only 5.0% at the newsstand — but a figure like that is hardly cause for celebration.

The only good news amongst the fashion glossies’ circulation figures was In Style’s 4.0% increase at the news stand.

There is much speculation about why fashion magazine circulation has changed so dramatically in such a short time:

Whether the change is cyclical (uncertain economic times that include high gas prices, fewer supermarket trips and less disposable income) or secular (consumer behavior is undergoing a fundamental change away from newsstand, or from print magazines themselves) depends on whom you ask. Editors and publishers would have it be the former.

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But some advertisers and observers are beginning to wonder whether the second diagnosis is upon us. As consumers’ attention fractures, spoiled by choice and easy digital access, the culture and entertainment industries already have adjusted their expectations, counting smaller sales numbers than ever as blockbusters. The magazine industry might be falling prey to the same tectonic shift.

Several magazines, such as Glamour and Marie Claire, have seen disappointing sales for several periods in a row, even when the economy was flush, suggesting more of an overall move away from big women’s titles.

Source: Magazine Circulation Falls in Half. WWD, 8 August 2008.

At the same time as their print cousins are falling from favor, online fashion magazines are starting to be taken seriously. Their growing user base, fashion-forward audience and relatively low costs are attracting forward-thinking advertisers:

Some [online fashion magazines] struggle for revenues, but a few are drawing blue chip advertisers, including Neiman Marcus, Tiffany and Lancôme. Advertisers can pay $10,000 to $50,000 to promote their products on a Webzine.

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“The preponderance of ad spending is still in the traditional media,” [MediaPost.com editor Joe] Mandese said. But, he said, as marketers reach for Web audiences, which are widely perceived as hipper and more influential than those for print, “we are going to see a rationalization to shift money online just because it looks good.”

Source: Where the fashionistas go for a quick fix. International Herald Tribune, 7 August 2008.

Whether there’s a shift from print to online — or just a coincidental shift away from print media at the same time as online fashion sites are gaining traction — it’s a good time to be in online fashion media.