New research highlights significant engagement with newspaper E-Editions

A recent study from Totum Research reveals that many Canadians are transitioning to newspaper E-Editions, the digital replica of the printed newspaper, as their source for local news.

The study, How Geography Impacts Shopping Habits, Patterns and E-Commerce, undertaken in February 2023 involved 2,492 english speaking Canadians (excluding Quebec) and focused on how the size and location of their home community affected their media consumption and shopping habits.

One of the biggest revelations from the study results was the significance in engagement levels achieved by newspaper e-Editions across all community sizes. This study is one of the first to differentiate engagement with an E-Edition from that with news posted to and consumed on, a newspaper’s website. The result is a clearer understanding of how news consumption is transitioning to online.

According to the study’s results, 41% of Canadians indicated that they had read an E-Edition in the last week. That number, combined with the readership of printed newspapers brings the total number of Canadians who engaged with a traditional format newspaper in the last week to nearly 6 in 10. By comparison, 49% of Canadians indicated that they’d read stories posted directly to a newspaper’s website. These results suggest that a majority of Canadians continue to prefer the traditional newspaper package, whether printed on newsprint or viewed on a screen.

E-Edition engagement reports even higher amongst Canadians in urban markets of 10,000 population or more with 42% of respondents indicating engagement with an E-Edition in the last week, with combined E-Edition/

Print readership topping

59%.

While overall weekly EEdition/Print newspaper engagement in rural Canada (communities less than 10,000 population) aligns to the numbers seen with urban Canadians, the numbers skew more towards readership of the printed version of the newspaper. Whereas 44% of rural Canadians admitted to having read a newspaper in printed form in the last 7 days, engagement levels for weekly engagement with the E-Edition product dips slightly to 35%. Overall, 60% of respondents living in rural markets report having read either a printed newspaper or the digital replica of the printed newspaper in the last week.

E-Edition engagement was highest amongst urban Ontarians with 44% of those surveyed indicated they’d read an E-Edition within the last 7 days and was lowest amongst rural residents of Atlantic Canada where readers favoured the printed version of the newspaper of all options.

To view the results or learn more about the study, conducted by Totum Research Inc., and funded in part by the Department of Canadian Heritage, visit: