Newspaper Sales Decline Hitting Newsagents Hard, say Reports

A nationwide decline in newspaper sales is hitting newsagents hard who – according to reports of a study by retail analysts, Mintel – are 15 per cent worse off than they were ten years ago.

Says the Daily Finance website and also Paid Content, Mintel is reporting that income from newspapers has dropped from £3.4 billion to £2.9 billion since 1999. What's more, Mintel is reported to be predicting a 44 per cent drop in income from newspapers between now and five years' time.

Partly counterbalancing a decline in newspaper sales, newsagents are enjoying increased sales of magazines, cards, stationery, cigarettes and books.

In July, allmediascotland.com reported newsagents in Scotland displaying a poster explaining why they were no longer stocking the Daily Star of Scotland newspaper, on account of sales margins being considered too low.