Good Housekeeping and Q magazine have both announced a trial into travel-sized editions from next month.
From their July issues, which go on sale in June, both magazines will produce smaller versions alongside their usual sized editions, which will be sold at WH Smith travel stores throughout the UK.
Good Housekeeping was forced to become a pocket-sized magazine in 1939 due to a wartime paper shortage. The National Magazine Company is now testing the handbag size format again for six issues.
Editorial director Lindsay Nicholson said: “Today the demand for travel-sized formats is due to the fact that the magazines are easier to carry and appealing to travellers, rather than paper shortages.”
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The compact edition, which will have the same £3.40 cover price as the regular edition, follows a major redesign of Good Housekeeping in April under Nicholson’s leadership.
She added: “The new size makes them a great collector’s item as they fit in most bookshelves.
“We’re confident the smaller sized magazine will be warmly received by our readers, especially during the summer when many will be travelling on holiday.”
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Bauer Media’s music monthly Q has planned a three-issue print run for its smaller edition, aimed at festival-following music fans. It will sell for the same price of £3.90.
Q marketing executive Lauren Kreisler said: “The travel size will be a proportionately scaled down version of the regular issue with the same content and advertising, designed specifically for readers who prefer a more portable Q experience.”
A number of consumer magazines have tried downsized editions, from Cosmopolitan to Men’s Health, following Glamour magazine’s 2001 launch as a compact.
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