Catalogues continue to expand their reach, with more Australians aged 14-plus reading them during an average week than either major or community newspapers, according to Roy Morgan Research.
Almost 10.5 million Australians read or looked at one or more catalogues during an average week in the year to June 2015, reaching a level not seen since 2012, with growth looking set to continue.
From more than 11 million in 2011, catalogue readership declined to around 9.5 million in 2013. However, catalogue readership rebounded, bucking the continuing downward trend for newspapers.
At the end of last year, catalogue readership surpassed that for non-community newspapers, and the gap has continued to widen. Currently, catalogues reach more than 600,000 more readers in an average seven-day period than these newspapers, and around 4.3 million more than community newspapers.
The combined net weekly reach of all newspapers, including community papers, in the year to June 2015 is 12.3 million, down from 14.6 million in the year to June 2012.
“If the recent upward trend for catalogues continues, their weekly reach is heading towards the combined reach of all newspapers, including community papers,” Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine said. “With reach dipping just below half in 2013, catalogues have recovered strongly: 54 per cent of Australians now read at least one during the week.”