Print Prospered In 2023, On Track To Repeat This Year

Print media consumption rose in 2023, and this trend should continue in 2024, according to a study by Pew Research Center.

Specifically, home and food magazines grew as follows:

• Good Housekeeping, 12.1M readers, +2% vs. two years ago
• Southern Living, 11.7M readers, +5% vs. two years ago
• Food Network Magazine, 11.3M readers, +28% vs. two years ago
• Taste of Home, 8.6M readers, +7% vs. two years ago
• HGTV Magazine, 8.1 million readers, +14% vs. two years ago
• Country Living, 7.6M readers, +18% vs. two years ago
• AllRecipes, 7.5M readers, +34% vs. two years ago
• Food & Wine, 6.7M readers, +23% vs. two years ago

Meanwhile, high in-home readership magazines include:

• AARP The Magazine, 38.9M readers (89% in-home), +5% vs. two years ago
• Costco Connection, 32.4M readers (90% in-home), +10% vs. two years ago
• AllRecipes (64% in-home), 7.5M readers, +34% vs. two years ago
• TV Guide (61% in-home), 6.7M readers, +20% vs. two years ago
• Taste of Home (56% in-home), 8.6M readers, +7% vs. two years ago

MRI-Simmons reports that 80%+ of 100+ national magazines have lower readership than they did a decade ago. But, over the past two years, nearly 90% of those have maintained or actually increased readership.

Catalogs are also growing apace. "Amazon’s Holiday Dash catalog which tops 100 pages, has been described as a mashup of the iconic Sears catalog and Highlights magazine," Pew writes. "And it’s been a huge hit with kids and parents alike. The Neiman Marcus holiday catalog turned 97 this year and shows no signs of slowing down — as its 2023 luxury travel section and 80-page fine jewelry insert clearly suggest. And L.L. Bean, which famously shifted its focus to TV and digital in 2017, is also leaning into print this year in a big way."

This article originally appeared in Mediapost.