Economic climate dampens sales of print magazines

The figures speak for themselves. Total actively purchased sales for January-June 2008 are down 3.4% year on year to £39.8m (source: PPA) and, of the top 50 paid-for magazines, just 11 recorded a circulation increase on the previous period.

Andy Taylor, associate director at Carat, describes the past six months as "a very difficult time", both for trading and magazine sales. He says: "The market is noticeably tougher - the credit crunch is having an effect on purchase decisions."

As consumers' spare cash dwindles, readers are becoming disillusioned with tales of the rich and famous - celebrity titles Heat, Now and Closer are all down period on period - and are developing a thirst for grown-up, news-driven editorial.

Thanks to the new mood of seriousness, business and current affairs titles such as The Economist and The Week are booming, as are the intelligent and luxury areas of the lifestyle market, such as Psychologies, Men's Health and men's science and technology monthly BBC Focus.

Carat's Taylor predicts the market will start to plateau from February - albeit with "some casualties in the celebrity weekly sector" - and hopes to see a stronger set of ABC results this time next year.

In the meantime, Paul Keenan, chief executive of Bauer Media, suggests publishers can weather the storm by focusing on creating an outstanding product that is potent enough to transfer across platforms, constantly reinventing and evolving titles, and being "ruthlessly efficient" to streamline operations.

However, Keenan cautions that media owners and agencies "should not let the cloud above UK plc overly darken the mood of the magazine industry".

He says: "With all the noise around the nervous consumer, we must not forget that magazines are vibrant, high-reach and targeted communication vehicles, and they continue to be very important to millions of people across the UK."

Womens lifestyle - Women remain loyal
Mens lifestyle - Free weeklies buoy the sector
TV - TV Choice retains top listings spot
Teenage - Top of the Pops storms up the teenage charts
Children - Panini's new title takes the lead in kids' division
Celebrity - Celebrity titles face desertion
Real-life - Real-life sector suffers dose of reality
Music - Rock'n'roll ride for music sector
Computing/Gadgets - Future remains bright for niche magazines in technology sectors
Homes and Gardens - Sector takes on the credit crunch
Customer publishing - Readers indulge in free content
Motoring - Top Gear continues to buck the trend
Food - Asda Magazine dominates food setor
ABCe - Men's titles hold sway in online magazine market
Current Affairs - Private Eye tops domestic current affairs league