Bargains aren’t just for Walmart shoppers anymore.
Starting in April, Time Inc.’s All You, the magazine for budget-conscious women, will be sold at stores outside the retail giant—the title’s sole newsstand distributor since launching 10 years ago.
The exclusive deal with the world’s largest retailer let All You reach its target audience at scale with limited marketing costs, while circulation soared to more than 1 million in five years. But as the soft economy has made budget shoppers out of everyone, the title seemed to be missing out on potential sales and audience by limiting its distribution.
Surprisingly, All You’s female readers have a median household income of $68,000—$11,000 higher than Condé Nast’s luxury ad-driven Vogue at just $57,000.
At the same time, the spread of technology—especially smartphones—has led to opportunity for the magazine. Two-thirds of smartphone owners have used their mobile devices to research products or compare prices, according to Leo J. Shapiro & Associates.
Those income figures don't surprise All You publisher Suzanne Quint, who says All You's readership has been defined less by demographics than by an attitude. “In order to be a smart shopper, you do have to be somewhat educated," she said, adding that, "The economy has spurred the smart-shopping movement, but technology has accelerated it. So more people are more interested in smart shopping because it’s easy to shop smart today.”
All You has reflected that change in its editorial pages, introducing coverage of comparison-shopping apps and icons that let people shop from the pages of the magazine using their mobiles. Advertisers have taken note, too; in recent months, Sprint, AT&T and Netflix have bought ads for the first time.
The 1.5-million circ All You has raised its rate base by 50,000 copies in anticipation of the nationwide rollout to stores including Kroger, Barnes & Noble and Target.
The expansion comes as All You, along with the rest of the magazine business, has suffered declines in single-copy sales. From 2008 to 2013, All You newsstand sales fell 12 percent, per the Alliance for Audited Media. But after testing distribution outside Walmart last year, sales recovered.