Magazines ABCs for 2024 show significant falls in newsstand sales. Price rises are often struggling to offset the impact on publishers and retailers. Analysis by Better Retailing showed 11 titles saw their retail sales fall by more than a fifth during the course of 2024.

These were Build It (incorporating Self Build & Design), Modern Gar­dens, OK!, Homebuilding & Renovating, Tatler, BBC Countryfile, New!, BBC Home Cooking Series, Profi International, Cy­cling Plus and Wired.

While Build It, Modern Gardens, OK!, Home­building & Renovating, BBC Countryfile, New!, BBC Home Cooking and Cycling Plus all had price increases during 2024, each saw its retail sales value (RSV) drop by at least 10%.

Overall, titles that increased cover prices last year had an average 3% fall in RSV compared with an average fall in circula­tion of 11%.

By contrast, titles that did not increase cover prices last year had slight­ly lower falls in circula­tion, with an average of 9%. However, this meant triple the average fall in RSV.

Notably, titles that raised prices by larger amounts showed smaller falls in circulation.

This meant titles that raised prices by £1- £2.50 (the highest price rise on any title that reported ABC figures) saw an average increase in RSV of 10%.

Prospect Magazine, Wanderlust, BBC Home Cooking Series, Inside Soap, Men’s Health, Runner’s World, Good Housekeeping, Ideal Home and London Review of Books all raised cover prices by £1 or more last year, and of these titles, only BBC Home Cooking had a fall in RSV.

This is despite all of these titles except for Wanderlust and London Review of Books expe­riencing a decline in circulation.

Some magazines are showing uplift in RSV

Wanderlust magazine had an impressive boost in circu­lation of 10%, leading to a 35% increase in RSV, while London Review of Books increased circula­tion by 2%, bringing a 14% uplift in RSV.

Wanderlust’s 35% boost was the highest increase in RSV of any title last year. It was followed by Women’s Health (20%), Slimming World (17%), London Review of Books (14%), Homes & Gardens (13%), Ideal Home (12%), Inside Soap (12%), Investor’s Chronicle (12%), Period Living (11%) and Motor Sport (10%).

Of these, only Investor’s Chronicle did not increase its cover price.

Slimming World is the only one of these predicted to make the top 10 titles sold on news­stands in 2025, coming in after TV Choice and What’s on TV, but beating Take a Break, Take a Break Monthly, Radio Times, Woman’s Weekly, That’s Life, Chat and Woman & Home.

Why are circulation calculations becoming less precise on some titles?

However, the disap­pearance of a number of titles from ABC figure reporting means these calculations have become less precise than in previ­ous years.

A number of magazines, primarily, but not exclu­sively, published by Im­mediate Media and Bauer Media, ceased to report ABC figures in this year.

In particular, Immedi­ate’s children’s titles no longer provide ABC fig­ures, leaving Beano as the only children’s magazine that reports.

This means it is impos­sible to compare Beano – which saw a 17% fall in circulation and an 8% fall in RSV last year – to any equivalent titles.

Immediate Media now reports ABC figures for 16 titles, compared with 40 last year. Bauer now reports ABC figures for 26 titles, com­pared with 35 last year.

Combined with a num­ber of titles that came off sale last year, and rela­tively few new magazines reporting ABC figures, the overall dataset shrank from 185 titles to 133.

This results in predic­tions and comparisons being less reflective of sales, with top impulse categories like children’s magazines almost entire­ly missing, and launches not factored in.

Publishers no longer reporting ABC figures is a concern for retailers who range their own magazines. Because those titles are no longer independently audited, they are therefore not accountable for the sales figures they present.

Retailers will be less able to identify the top-selling magazines their stores are missing out on, or remove titles in decline before the impact is felt in their stores.

Read more news and advice about the newspaper and magazines category and click here for the latest ABC circulation figures