The iPad may be the mobile device that most magazine publishers are enthusiastically embracing, but it’s possible that they’re moving in the wrong direction: Female magazine readers, it seems, may prefer Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color.
The New York Times reports that Nook sales of magazines like Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health and O, The Oprah Magazine don’t just rival iPad sales, in some case they outperform them. The difference, it seems, may be based around the perception of the devices themselves: A Forrester Research survey suggested that iPads are predominantly seen as “male,” with e-book readers seen as “female” (56% of iPad owners are men, against 45% of e-reader owners; women are also three times more likely to buy e-books than men, apparently).
Publishers have been noticing the difference, as well; Family Circle and More publisher, Meredith – where Nook sales are double iPad sales – is planning to add more titles, with EVP for digital media Liz Schimel saying, “We didn’t really know what to expect. We regarded it as sort of a test [and] we were extremely pleasantly surprised.” Rodale publisher Gregg Michaelson agrees: “When we look at the numbers across our titles we’re seeing about five times the number of paid subscriptions on the Nook than we see in single-issue sales on the iPad. That’s pretty interesting to me.”
What this information will do for magazine apps in the future remains to be seen. Will women’s magazines abandon iPad development in favor of the Nook? Will they try and refocus advertising efforts on convincing women that iPad magazines are just fine, too?
One thing’s for sure: Out of nowhere, the Nook has quietly gained an appreciable advantage over its more exciting rival.
More on Techland:
Barnes and Noble Will Announce a New E-Reader May 24th