New Study from MPA Focuses on Magazine Reading on Smartphones

NEW YORK, NY (October 11, 2012) — MPA–The Association of Magazine Media has issued “Magazine Media Readers and Their Smart Phones,” as part of the association’s ongoing effort to examine the attitudes and behaviors of a select group of consumers: mobile device owners who read digital magazines.  The new research, conducted in the summer of 2012, investigates how millennial (18- to 34-year-old) smartphone owners access magazine content on their smartphones, in particular Apple iPhones and Android devices. This latest study was conducted by independent research firm GfK MRI for MPA, and sheds light on younger consumers’ engagement with digital magazine content as well as their attitudes on content sharing, advertising, QR codes and e-commerce.

“This is the first study to uncover the behaviors and preferences of younger magazine readers exclusively on smart phones, and the findings provide magazine media editors and publishers with constructive insights for designing and evolving their mobile editions to better align with consumer preferences going forward,” said Christopher Kevorkian, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer, MPA.  “The advertising community would also find this research valuable, in particular the compelling results around the coveted millennials’ engagement with ads on magazine smartphone editions.”
 

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE SMARTPHONE SURVEY

Most magazine readers 18-34 who own a smartphone access or download magazine branded apps using digital newsstands and/or newsreaders (Flipboard, Pulse and Zite).

• 60% said they would like the smartphone version to deliver more current information than the printed copy.
   
• The smartphone owners surveyed have downloaded an average of 2.6 magazine apps.
   
• 83% of respondents accessed or downloaded a magazine branded app via a digital newsstand, while more than a third (35%) use a newsreader to view magazine digital content.
   
• 86% accessed digital magazine content on their smartphone from home.  43% read the content at work, and 31% on their commute.
   
• About half of respondents (57%) would be willing to pay a fixed amount for total access to a magazine’s content across any device or platform, including print copies. Only one in four are willing to pay more for a smartphone version than they do for a printed version, even if it is a more engaging experience. 37% would prefer to pay just for the magazine content that they choose, versus an all-access plan.
   
• 60% prefer short videos of less than a minute, and 77% say that pictures and photo galleries enhance the smartphone magazine reading experience.
   
• Food, news and sports magazine apps are the most popular downloads on smartphones, followed by celebrity/entertainment and science/technology.
   

Accessing magazine content in print or on smartphones leads to action.

• 60% of respondents have visited the magazine’s website as a result of reading digital magazine content on their smartphone and three in ten recommend the magazine to someone.
   
• 63% would like the ability to easily give a digital magazine subscription as a gift.
   
• 76% want the option to share magazine content they are reading with friends. 66% would like the ability to forward an article or issue to someone else.
   
• 66% read or tap on advertisements appearing in digital magazines on their smartphones.
   
• 65% have used a smartphone camera to snap QR codes, Microsoft Tags or other links in response to ads.
   
• Three in 10 respondents expressed interest in being able to purchase products and services directly from articles and features that they read in digital magazines on their smartphones.
   

For additional findings and charts, download the full study, “Magazine Media Readers and Smartphones,” from the MPA website. This latest research from MPA is part of a series that investigates how technology affects how consumers find, access, utilize and share digital magazine content. The first study, “Magazine Media Readers and Tablets,” released in the fall of 2011, focused on magazine audiences who own tablets and e-readers. The second, “Magazine Media Readers Are Social,” was fielded in spring 2012 and explore the impact of social media on the magazine reading experience.

Methodology:  GfK MRI, an independent media research firm, was commissioned by MPA to conduct a study among adults 18-34 who own a smartphone and have used it to access any magazine content. Respondents were recruited to the online survey via an email invitation sent to members aged 18-34 of the Research Now panel. The study was fielded from June 27 to July 2, 2012. A total of 1000 respondents completed the survey. The initial results yielded a 35% Male/65% Female split, leading to a re-fielding of the survey from July 19 to July 22 to acquire an additional 234 male respondents. Five-hundred female respondents were randomly selected to achieve a total of 1000 completed surveys with a 50/50 split between males and females.