A day in the life of a newsstand

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, March 15, 1995 by Steve Wilson

With the proliferation of book superstores has come a new breed of magazine reader: the newsstand dweller. Encouraged by retailers who eschew the "you read it, you buy it" policy, browsers can cozy up with a store's wares for hours on end. Because these "dwellers" are random people off the street studying their magazine-handling habits at a well-stocked rack is a purer kind of reader research than any that could be orchestrated.

So on a recent weekday, Folio: writer Steve Wilson clocked 14 hours tracking the denizens of one superstore's newsstand. The New York City, book chain where he set up his covert observation center (specially, chosen for its built-in cafe and mixed business/residential neighborhood) had a 75 percent white clientele. A timeline of the days notable happenings follows.

MORNING Time of the loners

The stand at this early hour is made up primarily of early-morning drifters who seem to be in no particular hurry to get to a job. Their numbers rarely exceed 10; most of them take the time to sit down on the ledge by the window and read for an average 20 minutes.

9:03 - Of the 10 people freezing outside the entrance, two (one man, one woman) head for the magazine racks as soon as the doors open. The woman, in her thirties and dressed for jogging, sits, plopping Harper's Bazaar by her side and breaking open Psychology Today. Her male counterpart noses around the entertainment section, but soon leaves for other parts of the store.

9:13 - A young executive dressed in the latest downtown fashion puts down his gourmet coffee and designer backpack to dig into Mojo, Rolling Stone, Details. He eventually heads to the women's fashion section and spends a few minutes there before leaving.

9:26 - An overweight man carrying an Anne Rice novel spends a good 10 minutes canvassing the entire rack, but touches nothing.

9:29 - The jogger woman puts down Psychology Today, gets up and takes Harper's Bazaar to the cash register.

9:40 - A balding man in a ski vest puts aside Spy and Movieline and tries to look discreetly at Playboy Nudes. Passing by with New Music Express under his arm, a grunge lad glances at the man's selections, then at his face. The man promptly reshelves the magazine and leaves.

9:41 - A college-age youth reading film and karate titles tries unsuccessfully to make eye contact with a stylish young woman in seventies garb reading Vibe.

9:54 - A Hassidic Jew enters and briefly picks up Cigar Aficionado Buyer's Digest. He glances at the covers of nearby nudie magazines, but doesn't touch them. After a skim through Victoria and Electronic Entertainment, he heads over to the newsweeklies.

9:56 - A slob of a man in sweat pants peruses the women's magazine section, ultimately hunkering down with Marie Claire.

EARLY AFTERNOON Time of the read `n' runs

The nine-to-fivers of the area who pop in and out on their lunch breaks are the most likely actually to buy, primarily from the personal finance and business categories. The stand population surpasses 30 at peak moments, averaging 25. only a quarter of them sit.

11:35 - A woman periodically chuckles aloud over Premiere. Eventually, the hip-hop teen beside her picks up his Architectural Digest and Popular Science and moves to the open space at the other end of the seating ledge.

11:37 - A woman in black peruses Country Living and Elle Decor, while a sturdy fellow next to her reads Cross Trainer. She leaves with Elle Decor.

11:41 - A man in a black overcoat, who had been skimming Popular Photography, picks up the nudie book Platinum and holds it up at eye level, almost as if he wants people to see him studying it.

11:44 - A man in a cowboy hat leafs through W before joining a Spalding Gray look-alike in the political section.

11:49 - Two suits converse in loud Portuguese on opposite sides of a rack. One is stockpiling five different personal-finance magazines for purchase. The other has Vox in hand, which he ultimately returns to the shelf.

12:00 - Amid all the hustle and bustle, a teenage Asian in a brown leather jacket sits in the lotus position studying Game Fan.

12:01 - A slightly overweight black man settles down with Cosmo, Mirabella, Details and 'Teen Magazine. He opens Cosmo, pulls a homemade bologna sandwich out of a crumpled McDonald's bag and spends a good hour chuckling and mumbling to himself.

12:04 - Two male youths note an issue of Penthouse featuring Heidi Fleiss. "She's never been on the cover," one says enthusiastically. "Heidi Fleiss, the nudeness, it just isn't happening," says his friend.

12:10 - Two young white business types debate the "dope" level of various hip-hop artists in The Source.

12:45 - A twentysomething collegiate Asian briskly enters, grabs every Windows-related magazine he can get his hands on, and leaves.

12:53 - Two businesswomen look through the wedding magazine selection. "I think I'll start out with Brides--it covers a lot," one says. "Friggin' thing costs $4, though," notes her friend.

12:58 - Three young businessmen come in, and one gets really excited when he sees The Economist "Ah, here it is!" he says. "Man, what you getting that for?" another asks. The first doesn't answer, just reads the cover intently. An aging hipster in a beret reading Forbes eyes them warily through his funky shades.