US/GB: Consumers may prefer their news online, but for magazines it’s a different matter
The explosive growth and widespread adaptation of digital news media has led to widespread speculation about the future and decline of print media. This article examines preferences of adults in the US and GB when it comes to reading newspapers and magazines online and in print – and reveals an interesting difference between the two.
Data from YouGov Profiles reveals that more than half of American (60%) and British consumers (54%) prefer reading newspapers online to seeing them in print. But when it comes to magazines, there is still plenty of appetite for something to flick through. In fact, less than a third of consumers (US, 29%; GB, 18%) prefer reading magazines online compared to having a hard copy in their hands.
When it comes to newspaper readership, the 25-35-year-olds (US, 69%; GB, 75%) register the highest preference for reading newspapers online followed by consumers between the ages of 18 and 24 (US, 67%; GB, 70%). This number then continues to fall as the age of consumers rises.
Consumers above the age of 55 in both countries display a significant preference for reading newspapers in print than online, albeit the number is significantly higher in GB (46%) than in the US (31%). In fact, across both countries it is only among this older British demographic where there appears to be a preference for print over online when it comes to news.
On the other hand, the story is completely different when it comes to magazine readership - on both sides of the Atlantic.
Data reveals that just under half of Americans (47%) and a majority of Britons (58%) say they get more enjoyment from reading magazines in print than online.
This sentiment grows with age. More than two-thirds of British consumers (70%) and two-fifths of American consumers (61%) aged above 55 say they prefer reading magazines in print.
Unlike newspapers, less than a third of consumers in the US (29%) and less than two-fifths of consumers in GB (18%) say they don’t prefer to read the print versions of magazines.
Just like with newspapers, magazine reading online continues to decline with age, with fewer than one out of five consumers above the age of 55 doing so (US, 16%; GB, 10%).
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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for US and GB is nationally representative of the online population and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.