The Apple iPad will be talked about since the saviour of newspapers by publishers and commentators around the world. While it will take the time to comprehend perhaps the iPad will deliver a bankable revenue stream to newspaper publishers, the bigger question for newspaper retailers is perhaps the iPad will impact on newspaper buying habits.
Consumers buy newspapers out of habit and for an instantaneous need. I declare that in both situations, the iPad is not likely to impact noticeably on the purchase patterns, not for the following couple of years at least.
While iPad sales have now been excellent in the United States in the very first weeks following release, it can take years to achieve the amount of critical mass necessary to have a viable channel. The following barrier is app up take.
Each iPad user wanting to get into a newspaper, national or local, will need to purchase a software, a membership to the newspaper. The current pricing model is not absolutely all that attractive. pool result While I expect a lot of iPad users to check newspapers, I suspect so it will take the time for people to see an on-going commitment.
Newspaper publishers themselves are merely starting to become accustomed to the new platform. The versions of newspapers today on the iPad will look archaic in just a few months. It several years we will not recognise them when compared with what will be around them.
Enhance the challenge of the new technology and the first versions of newspapers the matter of the technology itself – the need for power and the need for internet access. Every one of these factors is really a barrier that will slow getting to the point where we notice a direct effect on sales.
With regards to the location, single copy newspaper sales, sales over-the-counter, can account fully for 33% of all newspaper sales. Many of these are to infrequent purchasers. These customers are unlikely to adopt a technology solution in even the medium term.
Physical newspapers win over the iPad today for convenience, price per copy and flexibility with regards to the way you communicate with the product. These benefits can and will soon be combated by the technology however, not immediately. This is why retailers selling newspapers have an opportunity in the short-term to carry on to leverage print newspaper sales.