Tablet Owners: More e-Commerce In Digital Magazines

Wired-AppWhile creative flexibility in presenting content is often cited as one of the main advantages of digital publishing platforms, digital magazine readers may not be so entranced by endless variety, judging by new data from GfK MRI’s iPanel, a special survey group composed of tablet and e-reader owners.

GfK MRI also found substantial interest in e-commerce via digital magazines.

Overall, 72% of tablet owners who read digital magazines on their devices in the last 30 days said they would prefer all digital magazines to be formatted in the same way, according to the iPanel results.

70% of tablet owners who read digital magazines on their devices said they would like to be able to buy items simply by clicking on ads in the digital magazines. Almost as many -- 67% -- said they would like to see ads in digital magazines that are personalized to address their interests.

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The GfK MRI iPanel survey uncovered a fair amount of ambiguity when it came to general sentiment towards digital magazines. On one hand, there’s a definite preference for digital magazines over print among tablet and e-reader owners, with 67% saying they’d rather read the electronic version over the paper version.

Somewhat paradoxically, however, 65% said they consider reading paper magazines to be a “more satisfying” experience -- perhaps reflecting a perception that digital magazines are somehow still a “work in progress.”

There were some other negative findings as well: 48% of tablet magazine readers say electronic magazines take too long to download, while 46% said they consider video (touted as a main feature of digital mags) to be “just a gimmick.”

Furthermore, 43% said it is too difficult to find the magazines they want to read on their devices.

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