Do shoppers like bagged magazines?

Following up on comments here by publishers that bagged magazines sell better, I have been talking to browsers in my newsagencies, when there is an appropriate opportunity, about what they prefer.

The shoppers I have spoken with fall into four general categories: irregular buyers of a title wanting to make sure this issue has value for them, browsers only, regular buyers of the title, friends shopping for a gift.

Irregular buyers are the ones most frustrated by bagged titles in my experience.  Take the latest issue of Top Gear.  Two shoppers I spoke with were about to dismiss this issue because it was in a sealed package. They like the magazine for its content and didn’t care about freebies which caused it to be packaged this way.  I opened it for them – one bought and the other did not.

I also spoke to a couple of shoppers looking at the latest issue of Donna Hay magazine which is bagged with a gift.  Both said they would not even consider buying this issue if they could not see what recipes were available.

Browsers are frustrated but move onto another title they can browse while passing time.  They prefer in packaged magazines but note that they can always find something to read.

Regular buyers.  I only spoke with a four. They said they’d prefer magazines un-bagged but didn’t really care.  Three said the freebies usually didn’t add value in their view.

Friends didn’t care as they were buying because they had been told to or for a gift.

Newsagencies are, usually, browser friendly places.  I certainly want to encourage browsing of magazines.  Otherwise, we become like other retailers where the magazine category is not a destination but there for building a basket on top of destination purchases. Our channel was build on magazines as a point of difference and browsing is vital to that.

Bagged magazines impact on browsing. In talking with customers, my sense is that bagged magazines cause us to miss sales opportunities.  While publishers say they have data which refutes this, I can only go off what my customers have told me in recent weeks.

I acknowledge that my sample is not representative since those who are happy with bagged magazines will have made their purchase and left before I notice them browsing.