From April 2019 to March 2020, 44.3 million people read magazine brands monthly in the United Kingdom either in print format or online via a desktop computer, smartphone, or tablet. A total of 24.9 million consumers aged 15 or above read women's monthly magazines, whereas weekly publications aimed at women were less popular.

Magazine print sales in decline in the UK

The sales volume of printed magazines has taken a major hit in recent years, falling from 820.1 million copies of magazine titles sold in 2011 to just 373.8 million copies in 2018. In consequence, a general decrease was observed in the annual revenue from printed magazines sales, with figures at 634.2 million British pounds in 2018, down from roughly 1.2 billion British pounds in 2011.

Towards a digital consumption

While print magazines consumption has been falling continuously, a different tendency was observed when it came to the digital magazine sector. In this regard, the sales volume of the digital sector grew by 31.6 percent in 2018 from the previous year. As of 2019, 51 percent of adults in Great Britain consumed magazines monthly through their phones compared to roughly 40 percent individuals reading print magazines. 

In 2022, the leading women's lifestyle and fashion magazine in the United Kingdom by circulation was Good Housekeeping at 362.4 thousand. Stylist ranked second with 358 thousand copies distributed.

Magazine circulation in decline

Despite several lifestyle and fashion magazines aimed at UK women maintaining a circulation of more than 100 thousand, every publication shown in this ranking (with the exception of HELLO!) suffered a year-over-year drop. Elle saw the highest drop in circulation at -27 percent, followed by Harper's Bazaar with a decrease of 25 percent.

Digital readers

Digital magazine readership in the UK is on the up. Close to 50 percent of teens aged 12 to 15 years old report downloading magazines or reading them online most days or at least once per week, along with a third of adults at the other end of the spectrum aged 55 years or above. As far as reasons for reading digital magazines are concerned, audiences enjoy the fact they are cheap or free, as well as the ability to access them instantly.

The magazine 'BBC Good Food' was the most popular women's magazine in the United Kingdom, with a reach of over 12 million female readers and website visitors from April 2019 to March 2020. The ranking of leading UK women's weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bi-monthly and quarterly magazines across both print and digital platforms found the weekly magazine 'Hello!' as the second most popular.

This statistic displays the readership trend of Now magazine in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, the magazine was read by an average 531 thousand readers per issue.

This statistic displays the readership trend of Woman's Own magazine in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, the magazine was read by an average 556 thousand readers per issue.

This statistic displays the readership trend of Cosmopolitan magazine in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, the magazine was read by an average 1.3 million readers per issue.

This statistic displays the readership trend of Take a Break magazine in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, the magazine was read by an average 1.9 million readers per issue.

The print and digital reach of Elle magazine in the United Kingdom from April 2019 to March 2020 was higher among women than men, with 1.2 million women having been reached by the print title or its website. The magazine reached more adults aged 35 years or older than it did adults aged 15 to 35 years.

The decline of print

Print magazines have seen a drop in popularity in recent years, as an increasing number of readers makes the switch to digital sources. As a result of this, advertisers have shifted their focus away from the medium with the revenue for print magazine advertising in the United Kingdom on the decline since 2011, dropping nearly by half during this period. In fact, it is forecast that the internet will comprise over half of global advertising spending in 2021, with magazines making up a mere 3 percent.

Women’s magazines in digital format 

In the previous year, only slightly more than 314 thousand print copies of Elle magazine were sold, demonstrating a clear audience preference for the online version. Despite more and more readers turning towards digital as their format of choice, a survey conducted in 2019 demonstrated that women’s lifestyle and fashion magazines were not among the top purchases of UK respondents who had bought e-magazines. Only Vogue and Women’s Health Mag featured on a list citing other digital publications such as Men’s Health, The Economist and Time as top sellers.

This statistic displays the readership trend of Elle magazine in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, the magazine was read by an average 619 thousand readers per issue.

The leading women's magazine in terms of total brand reach in the United Kingdom from April 2019 to March 2020 was 'BBC Good Food', with a reach of over 17 million readers and website visitors. The ranking of leading UK women's weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bi-monthly and quarterly magazines across both print and digital platforms found the weekly magazine 'Hello!' as the second most popular.

This statistic displays the readership trend of Glamour magazine in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, the magazine was read by an average 0.9 million readers per issue.

From April 2019 to March 2020, Vogue magazine (in print and online) reached nearly 2.7 million people in the United Kingdom, including nearly two million women. Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine which covers topics ranging from fashion, beauty, and runways to culture and living.

BBC Good Food magazine, a leader in the UK

Vogue was only ranked 8th leading women‘s magazine in the UK March 2020; BBC Good Food magazine made it to the first position with over 17 million readers and website visitors. The digital version of the leading women’s magazine counted just over 1.9 million visitors to bbcgoodfood.com as of September 2017.

  Magazines print sales revenue in the UK

In 2018, the print sales revenue of magazine titles amounted to roughly 634 million British pounds. That year, the TV listings sector accounted for the largest amount of print retail revenue, at 138.3 million British pounds.

This statistic displays the readership trend of Asda Magazine in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, the magazine was read by an average 5 million readers per issue.

This statistic displays the readership trend of Vogue magazine in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, the magazine was read by an average 1.3 million readers per issue.

This statistic displays the readership trend of Closer magazine in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, the magazine was read by an average 825 thousand readers per issue.

This statistic displays the readership trend of Heat magazine in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, the magazine was read by an average 0.8 million readers per issue.

This statistic displays the readership trend of That's Life! magazine in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, the magazine was read by an average 423 thousand readers per issue.

This statistic displays the readership trend of Sainsbury's Magazine in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, the magazine was read by an average three million readers per issue.

OK! magazine had an average monthly reach of around seven million adults inthe United Kingdom from April 2019 to March 2020. Ok! is marketed as a woman's magazine in the UK with a significantly higher female readership than male readership; about 5.6 million women read OK! magazine compared to almost 1.4 million males each month. Individuals aged 35 years and over were more likely to read OK! magazine with a readership of 4.8 million individuals compared to roughly 2.2 million individuals aged between 15 and 34 years old.

OK! Magazine is a weekly British magazine specializing in celebrity news, gossip, TV shows and photographs. Since its first publication in 1993, OK! magazine has been launched in numerous countries throughout the world and published in the respective languages.

This statistic displays the average issue readership of the women's magazine Marie Claire in the United Kingdom from first half 2003 to second half 2016. In second half 2015, Marie Claire had a readership of 632 thousand.