2023 Reading trends: surge in personal finance, escapism and budget cooking

The magazine and newspaper app Readly has compiled its annual reading trends report of 2023. This year’s insights show that 390,000 digital issues were read 160 million times on the platform with readership spiking in categories such as Business & Finance (+22%), Lifestyle (+18%) and Food & Drink (+13%). The average subscriber spends 8.6 hours per month reading digitally on the app.

The Business & Finance category gained popularity this year, with its share of the total readership increasing by 22 percent globally compared to 2022. Some of the issues that attracted the highest number of readers during the year had tips related to personal finance, showing a renewed interest in the category amongst subscribers.

2023 has been a tumultuous year in many parts of the world and people have sought  an escape from reality by reading lifestyle magazines. The category surged by 18 percent and many influential people, past and present, have contributed to defining news moments  including the coronation of King Charles III , the surge of Barbiemania and remembering the icon that was Tina Turner. Margot Robbie was amongst the coverstars that received the highest level of international readership on Readly.

– Amid economic uncertainty, geopolitical unrest, and climate challenges, consumers turn to quality journalism for answers, guidance, and a moment of escape. Paramount among concerns is the global economy, its implications on a personal level, and in parallel a longing for occasional detachment from the reality of challenges that have been apparent throughout 2023, says Chris Couchman.

Readly also noted a 13 percent increase in the opening rate of issues in its Food & Drink category in 2023, revealing a shift in consumer values. Readers are increasingly more interested in plant-based recipes and have a preference for budget-friendly home cooking. The popularity of kitchen appliances  like the Air-fryer and home smart technology has made cooking more convenient, resulting in a surge of air frying-focused magazines and articles.

UK reading snapshot 2023

●        UK readers have read 26M issues

●        10% of all titles read by UK users are foreign titles.

●        Mobile usage is 19% for magazines and 15% for newspapers.

●        Gender split

○      Magazines: 41/59 percent men/women

○      Newspapers: 62/38 percent men/women

●        Most read categories are

○        Celebrity & Entertainment

○        Lifestyle

○        Cars & Motoring

More trends and toplists are found in the full report: https://corporate.readly.com/files/Documents/Reports/Readly_Trends_Report_2023.pdf

For media enquiries:
Kate Tegelaars, press contact at Readly UK
+44 (0)7879 818 71,  kate.tegelaars@readly.com

About Readly
Readly is the European category leader for digital magazines. The company offers a digital subscription service where customers have unlimited access to 7600 national and international magazines - all in one app and at a fixed monthly fee. Readly has subscribers in 50 countries and content available in 17 different languages. In collaboration with around 1,200 publishers worldwide, Readly is digitising the newspaper and magazine industry. In 2022, revenues amounted to SEK 592 million. The Readly share is listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. For more information, please visit https://corporate.readly.com.