DAMMAM, 6 January — The Internet has changed many people’s reading habits. As a result the sale of foreign magazines and newspapers has gone down sharply over the past two years.
In the Eastern Province alone there are nearly 40,000 Western expatriates and before the Internet arrived, many of them — plus a sizable number of Saudis — used to buy foreign newspapers and magazines. Although the periodicals were sold at exorbitant prices, the demand remained steady and even increased. The arrival of the Internet, however, changed all that.
According to Al-Khazindar Distribution Company, over the past two years, the company’s sales have fallen by as much as 50 percent. "Our sales department initially took the shock in stride, thinking it to be a momentary drop in circulation, but the continuous decline alarmed us and we did a survey. We found that most of our customers were now accessing their favorite magazines on the Net," said a company official.
Many Net users ask what is the point of paying for a periodical — especially if it may have been censored — if they can read it on the Net for virtually nothing? All of them say that the prices of the foreign publications were too high; markups of 100 percent over the actual price in the country of publication were common and so people have been happy to turn to the Internet.
Many Net users, however, admit that they have often had to change their reading habits. For instance, many people read the newspaper at the breakfast table. Some read magazines while relaxing on the sofa or in bed at night.
Andrew, who lives in Dhahran but works in Ras Tanura, takes a company bus every day. He uses the 40-minute ride to read the newspapers but, as he says, "That has all changed. I don’t have time to read the online papers in the morning so I read them in the evening instead."
Many Net users admit that reading newspapers on the Net is "not very convenient." As one man observed, however, "The possibility of saving nearly SR500 a month is enough to make us change our habits."
Many former buyers of foreign magazines and newspapers say that if the prices were substantially reduced, they would probably buy them again. One expatriate said, "In any case, we buy Arab News even though it is also available online. The newspaper is a good package of national, international, finance and sports news for only SR2. British and American papers, on the other hand, are all at least SR10."
Supermarkets and bookstores selling foreign newspapers and magazines confirm that sales have dropped considerably. Many of them say a reduction in price is the only way to regain their market. Interestingly, these same distributors say that sales of computer-related magazines, despite their high cost, has increased. "If cost is the only factor, then why are sales of these magazines increasing every day?" asks the Al-Khazindar official.
The fact remains that the reading habits as well as the buying habits of many people have undergone real changes because of the Internet.
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