Supermarket Tesco‘s in-house magazine is the most widely read printed publication in the UK, according to the latest figures.
With readership increasing by eight per cent between October 2011 and September 2012, Tesco Magazine has overtaken Rupert Murdoch‘s The Sun, which has seen readership fall to 7.1 million, a decline of nearly a fifth on a decade ago.
Published twice a month by content marketing agency Cedar, the magazine features recipes, tips and celebrity interviews and is outperforming offerings by competitors.
According to the National Readership Survey, Asda‘s magazine has a readership of six million, while Sainsbury‘s Magazine and Waitrose Kitchen have 3.4 million and 1.4 million readers respectively.
Although Tesco reported its first pre-tax profit decline since 1994 in its half year results published last month with fall of 11.6 per cent, the grocer has maintained its market share, now standing at 30.5 per cent and its multichannel strategy is helping drive sales.
Such successful readership figures are particularly impressive given the well-documented decline of the printed press, with even national newspapers suffering considerably as the media world shifts its focus to online offerings.
Available from over 800 of its stores, Tesco Magazine allows the supermarket to connect with customers and showcase products all at once, highlighting the growing importance of strong marketing strategies among increasing competitive grocers.
Commenting on the news, Maureen Rice, Editor-in-Chief of Tesco Magazine, said: “If there is one word that sums up why Tesco Magazine is so widely read it‘s ‘relevance‘.
“We work hard to understand our readers‘ values and priorities, so that we always create content they genuinely find useful and enjoy.”
