Magazine publishers tap e-commerce revenue stream

E-commerce has become a vital third revenue stream for publishers alongside digital advertising and subscriptions; for Future plc, this is now its fastest-growing division.

Context 

A 2018 change to Google’s algorithm gave greater prominence in search results to shopping recommendations from “trusted” sites, a shift that opened up new opportunities for magazine publishers such as Future, Immediate Media and Bauer Media. 

Future spent two years building an in-house system that automatically adds links to products from sellers that the publisher has a revenue-share agreement with and is now reaping the benefits, the Financial Times reports.

Takeaways 

• Last year, Future plc grew commission from retail partners by 36% to £216m – more than a third of total revenues.
• Readers buy more than 43,000 items every day after clicking on links in articles written by Future journalists.
• Future is expanding its e-commerce operations into the US, last month launching Marie Claire Edit, which enables readers to browse styles recommended by the magazine’s editors and shop stores via a single site. 
• Rival Hearst is opening The Tower, an e-commerce marketplace made up of four individual stores with one cart, one platform and shared back-end technology from media brands Elle, Bazaar, Town & Country and Esquire, WWD reports.

Sourced from Financial Times, WWD [Image: Charisse Kenion on Unsplash]