Consumers turn to blogs as demand for magazines continues to decline

There is no denying the fact that the fashion industry is becoming increasingly digital. With more and more people opting to consume their fashion data online it comes as no surprise that appetite for print is declining. But do consumers still turn to their trusted glossy magazines when searching for inspiration?

In a recent survey of 1,000 people carried out by Psyche, 67 percent of the respondents revealed they thought style trends they follow are inspired by fashion bloggers, social influencers and street style images - not magazines. 82 percent believe that fashion blogs will become more influential than fashion magazines in the future.

According to the UK based designer clothing retailer, 35 percent of the respondents said blogs were better due to their accessibility. 22 percent said blogs were more relatable to them than the model features in magazines and 13 percent said blogs reacted faster to changing trends than magazines. A smaller percentage, 10 percent, added that magazine featured high fashion which felt unattainable in a way blogs did not.

The price of magazines was also a key factor. 46 percent of those questioned said they were put off from purchasing magazines because they were too expensive. Another 28 percent added that they felt magazines offered poor quality content in comparison to blogs, with too many adverts taking up space. 9 percent thought magazines were old-fashioned.

"Bloggers have come a long way within a relatively short period of time, and the fact that many of our customers now consider them a driving source of inspiration says a lot about the changing landscape of fashion," said Steve Cochrane, founder of Psyche in a statement.

"There’s a sense with these results that fashion has been reclaimed by the public. Whilst I wouldn’t say these results mean print is dead – magazines won’t be going anywhere any time soon - they do suggest that digital is definitely the future, and I’d expect that over the next few years we’ll see the lines between blogs and magazines blur more and more."