- Adweek Staff

NEW YORK Consumer magazines are struggling, and the picture continues to worsen. One sobering statistic: 525 magazines folded in 2008, along with 87 more, so far, in 2009. That bleeding will not be staunched anytime soon.
 
eMarketer estimates magazine ad spending was down 7.1 percent in 2008, to $13 billion. In 2009, the decline will be a more severe 16.2 percent.

Due to the recession, advertisers reduced their budgets across the board -- and print publishing took a significant hit. In addition, magazines have watched consumers and ad dollars migrate online at the expense of print and other forms of traditional media.
 
In 2010 and 2011, the offline advertising picture will still be one of decline, though eMarketer sees more moderate single-digit drops once the recession ebbs.

Gains will occur again in 2012, when ad spending will increase 4 percent to $10.5 billion. Those improvements will be driven in part by an increased percentage of revenues secured in the digital realm.