The Economist hits the streets

The Economist is to trial selling copies on London streets for the first time tomorrow (September 5) in an attempt to widen its audience. The initiative will build on the weekly magazine’s growing circulation.

According to the recent ABCs (Audit Bureau of Circulations) figures, its global year-on-year circulation grew 6% to 1,337,184, with UK sales also up 6% to 182,539 copies per week.

UK publisher Yvonne Ossman says: “The Economist is no longer a niche brand of the establishment and hasn’t been for some time. Our readers are incredibly diverse and the characteristics that connect them are their curiosity, drive, optimism and energy. We hope that by putting people on the streets we will help unite our paper with more of the people it has been written for.”

The move mirrors a growing trend among publications to use street vendors to try and attract new readership. The method has already been adopted by News International, which sells The Sun and The Times in London.