DeJoy agrees to pause some USPS facility changes until 2025 (federalnewsnetwork.com)

Magazine publisher Dotdash Meredith has temporarily stopped sending print editions of People and Better Homes & Gardens to some subscribers, citing a tight paper market. The New York-based company, which maintains an office campus in downtown Des Moines' Western Gateway, sent postcards to some readers this week, telling them they would not receive print editions of the magazines in the coming months. The company has offered those readers free subscriptions to digital editions of the magazines. A company spokesperson said in an email Friday that Dotdash Meredith stopped some distribution to "a limited number" of People and Better Homes & Gardens subscribers because of a "temporary global paper shortage." The subscribers involved represent about 7% of the company's total print subscriber base, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson did not answer a question from the Des Moines Register about whether the impact is concentrated in certain parts of the country.

Publishers had a reasonably good year in 2022, but 2023 could be rocky, judging by new research by the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM). In 2022, 67% saw an increase in digital subscriptions, and 40% reported increased web traffic. But 80% experienced rising production costs, and 53% were hit with distribution challenges. The survey was limited to 30 executives at AAM-audited publishers. This is not projectible, but it does provide a snapshot. Of those respondents, 82% said advertising would continue to be a main source of revenue, while 57% expect digital subscriptions would be a primary source, and 54% said the same about print subscriptions.

A customer-led, technology-enabled revolution is transforming the retail industry. That’s according to global market intelligence firm IDC, which has released its annual “FutureScape: Worldwide Retail 2023 Top 10 Predictions.” The report predicts how the worldwide retail industry will evolve. Below are IDC’s top 10 predictions: 1. By 2025, 20% of the top 100 global retailers will drive holistic business result using distributed artificial intelligence (AI) systems with integrated data across retail planning, decisions, operations, and optimization. 2. By 2025, 50% of retailers will increase data management and governance technology investments by at least 20% to obtain insights from growing amounts of data to increase omnichannel revenue.