Goodbye Woolworths TASTE magazine
Woolworths has announced that the July/August issue of its TASTE magazine will be the last that goes to print – with the future focus for the brand being online and digital only.
Woolworths and New Media launched the magazine in 2003. It is currently published bi-monthly (every two months) – but the groups will now put all the focus on the brand’s digital growth.
The group said that more than 1 million customers access the brand’s content on digital platforms every month.
“We believe this decision will shift the focus from the present to the future, allowing us to connect with even more customers and solve their problems more creatively,” said Elizka Ferreira, head of foods marketing at Woolworths.
Woolworths said it would invest more of its content and amplification budgets into TASTE’s digital channels.
“Digital content has the advantage of being more tactical and more personalised, offering life-enhancing functionality and, critically, the ability to measure success.”
Print bloodbath
South Africa’s print magazines and newspapers have been in decline for decades years, with the latest circulation data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) of South Africa showing a veritable bloodbath.
The circulation statistics for October to December 2023 show that only a handful of publications in the country showed a year-on-year increase in their circulation numbers, while the collective circulation of all ABC members showed a year-on-year decline of 7.4%.
The ABC said this declining trend aligns with a 5% annual decrease in its membership.
This significant decline in circulation for print publications can be largely attributed to the digitalisation of news and entertainment media over the past few decades.
In the past 10 years, media has largely moved online and found ways to become profitable that differ wildly from how print media generate revenue.
Over this time, many print publications have kept with the trends and shifted to digital platforms – some wholly, while others have taken a hybrid approach.
TASTE is now the latest in a long line to move to a fully digital format.
Read: Woolworths takes a hit
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