even industry leaders may baulk at the cost. Time Inc and Hearst, however, are investing — Time’s Real Simple has released a mobile gift guide with in-app purchasing, while Hearst’s Elle recently launched a shoppable trend guide on Facebook.
And tablets, despite their bastion-like
position in the media world, are not the only go-to for mags branching into ecommerce. Hearst’s Good Housekeeping has a median demographic age of 53.6 years — older than the demographic representing the largest group of tablet users (the 30-49 age bracket). Still, 27 per cent of people aged 50-64 own a tablet, compared to 25 per cent of 18-29 and 31 per cent of 30-49 year olds.
recent strategy of placing Amazon affiliate links beneath editorial product reviews is sound; in fact, it’s straight out of Net-a- Porter’s playbook. (Shopping links are also included in Kindle editions.) Somewhat expectedly, John Loughlin, executive vice president and general manager at Hearst, confirmed “click-through
rates…have been impressively high.” Research data supports Loughlin’s
experience. A report by Forrester Research discovered that 60 per cent of tablet owners have used them to shop, and a survey by media audience measurement company GfK MRI found that fully 70 per cent of tablet owners would love to be able to click-and-shop, according to AdWeek.
Where editors might blanch and baulk
at the idea, Loughlin maintains that the new system protects editorial integrity because the shopping links and product suggestions are added after editors make their recommendation. “We’re not saying to the editor, ‘You should be reviewing pots and pans,’” Loughlin told Adweek. “We’re taking their editorial perspective and applying it to what we feature.”
Hearst took an even deeper plunge in
early 2012 when Loughlin announced the company would be making an investment in the low seven figures to improve ecommerce.