Two thirds (68 per cent) of tablet owners have read newspapers or magazines on a tablet that they had not previously read in print, research by the PPA has found.
The PPA TAP (Tablets and Publishing) Report finds a positive correlation between print and tablet readership, with 96 per cent of tablet owners have read a printed magazine in the last year, compared to the 80 per cent national average.
Marius Cloete, head of research at the PPA, said: “There is a strong link between tablet owners and magazine readership. A number of studies suggest that digital editions are reinvigorating the appetite for magazine media and this has been confirmed by our own research with Tolunaquick which demonstrates that digital editions are not eroding the market for print editions, instead quite the opposite.
“Tablet owners are more likely to have read and purchased printed magazines in the previous three months than the national average, dispelling the myth that tablet owners are abandoning print in favour or digital. The two platforms instead appear to be working in combination to expand consumers’ reading repertoire.”
The findings also seemed to suggest that readers want both the print and digital versions of the magazine, with the digital version being seen as an enhancement, not a replacement.
It was also discovered that 73 per cent of tablet owners use the device whilst in bed and 96 per cent use it on the sofa: similar to the statistics of where people read print magazines.
James Papworth, marketing director at the PPA, added: “As we approach Christmas, increasing tablet sales are expected to continue, fuelling more opportunity and distribution for magazine editions. The PPA expects tablet editions to expand in both the number of titles available and copy sales. This is good news for advertisers as the opportunity to engage with magazine brand content is rapidly growing.”