Change in page views by content category for select online publishers.
Tracked by the Parse.ly network, comparing Feb. 23–March 7, 2020, to March 8–21, 2020.
Source: Fischer, S. (2020, April 7). Demand for online shopping has never been higher. Axios Media Trends: Axios.
Editor’s Note: Just one of Google’s, “Community Mobility,” trends appears here. They release a number of these spanning locations (e.g. parks, workplace) across a number of counties in New York State. Reports are available across the globe. These reports show how visits and length of stay at different places change compared to a baseline. They calculate these changes using the same kind of aggregated and anonymized data used to show popular times for places in Google Maps. Google says these reports will be available for a limited time, so long as public health officials find them useful in their work to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Source: Google. (2020, March 29). COVID-19 Community Mobility Report. Google.
Streaming minutes per week by service – February 24 to March 16, 2020.
Streaming video has shot up dramatically in the U.S. over the past month, as more people turn to their screens for comfort during the nationwide coronavirus, per Nielsen.
Source: Fischer, S. (2020, April 7). Bonus: Streaming spikes. Axios Media Trends: Axios.
With fewer retail options, what does the future look like for magazines’ past?
For most publishers, the newsstand business has become ancillary. But prior to The Great Recession, America’s top 500 magazines delivered nearly 350 million copies to newsstands across the country.
Times have changed, to say the least. That number now is a small fraction of what it once was, and for many magazine publishers, the newsstand accounts for less than 10% of overall revenue.
The drop in newsstand sales has been precipitous and consistent, double-digit year-over-year declines have been par for the course for more than a decade. But now, as COVID-19 continues to disrupt every corner of the economy, questions about the viability of the newsstand are glaring.
Initially, CEO of Bauer Media Group, Steven Kotok, suggests there was a slight uptick in sales as shoppers prepared to hunker down. Likewise, Meredith Magazines president, Doug Olson, acknowledged the same trend. But both implied they don’t anticipate that being a long-term trend.
“We aren’t sure,” Kotok candidly admits. “We wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some decline due to foot traffic.”
Scott Hill, who oversees retail sales and marketing at PubWorX, a joint collaboration between Hearst and Condé Nast, is very clear in his expectations for a softening of the newsstand business.
“The disruptions in air travel impacts the business significantly,” he says. “There are a lot of shops that are closed. Flights are down 80% at this point. So, we’re trying to reduce print orders accordingly.”
In terms of the impact on orders overall, Hill cites Barnes & Noble as just one critical example. “They have had over 400 stores close,” he says. “
For Bauer, on the other hand, most of its transactional sales happen at essential businesses like grocery stores and pharmacies, which will almost certainly remain open throughout this crisis.
Source: Welton, C. (2020, April 7). As Magazines Seek New Footing During the COVID-19 Crisis, the Newsstand Tries to Hang On. FOLIO: