Magazines.com launches sub program at retail checkouts THERE’S SOMETHING NEW at retail checkout counters. Shoppers can sign up for a one-year magazine subscription and take the first issue home with them.
The program, Instant Start, was developed by Magazines.com, a Nashville, TN-based subscription agent.
Participating titles come polybagged, distinguishing them from their single-copy counterparts on the magazine rack. They also feature a bright yellow banner that calls attention to the one-year-subscription message.
“We’re not offering a premium or gimmick to sell a subscription,” says Jay Clarke, president and CEO of Magazines.com. “They bought the magazine because they like the title, which makes them much more likely to renew year after year.”
The transaction is recorded when a checkout clerk swipes the magazine’s barcode. The subscription must then be activated at home with the help of a “subscriber response kit” packed in the polybag. Consumers can either return a postage-paid post card or activate the sub at the company’s Web site (www.magazines.com). About 60% of subscribers are validating their subscriptions online; the other 40% return the post card. According to Clarke, continuous service is not part of the plan at this time.
The firm is testing dozens of titles at mass merchandise outlets and bookstores. Participating publishers include Meredith Corp., Conde Nast, Time Inc. and Hearst Magazines.
A follow-up telephone survey of new subscribers found that convenience and the ability to pay cash at the register ranked high on the list of benefits.
“[It’s been] very, very difficult for the average American to subscribe who doesn’t have a checkbook or credit card,” Clarke notes.
Testing began in August with 20 titles at Books-a-Million, a Nashville bookstore. By September, a broader test with five titles was under way at 72 Kroger stores in Cincinnati.
The rollout begins this month at additional Kroger stores and at King Sooper and Food Lion outlets. Initially, 21 titles will be offered, with 50 the eventual target, Clarke says.
Revenue for each sale is divided four ways among the wholesaler, publisher, retailer and Magazines .com.
Clarke estimates that by the end of 2001, Instant Start will be available at 7,000 mass merchants and bookstores nationwide.
The company, originally founded in 1991 as Computers for Education, became Magazines.com in 1995. Its three lines of business include a Web site offering 1,300 subscriptions, magazine school fundraising plans and Instant Start.
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