Those two additional features are the primary reason for the price increase, said Economist president Bob Cohn. The Espresso app, which was originally launched in 2014, previously cost $4.99. Espresso is also available to people who pay for the full Economist subscription, which costs $189 a year for digital access or $225 for a print and digital bundle at no additional cost. The Economist has 1.2 million total subscribers, Cohn said. He did not say how many subscribed to the app alone — or what subscription goals were for the app.

Before the relaunch, Espresso averaged around 250,000 active users per week (which includes Espresso subscribers and full Economist subscribers), Cohn said. The Economist’s daily digital news team for the website and Espresso has doubled in size since last year, a spokesperson said — they declined to share how big the team is now or how many work specifically on the app. But this headcount increase means the Espresso app is now updated more frequently throughout the day by writers and editors. It’s available globally on mobile devices on the App Store and Google Play.

The core mission of the app hasn’t changed with this redesign, Cohn said. “It’s a daily digital briefing that complements the core subscription with short bits of news and analysis aimed at readers on the go,” he said.

But the changes to Espresso do signal a shift in the target audience for the app, falling into several categories: people who are younger, more female and more global than The Economist’s core audience (which skews male and concentrated in North America and Europe), as well as existing subscribers who find The Economist’s full subscription too expensive and are at risk of churn, or canceling their recurring payments. Publishers are increasingly investing in product innovation to strengthen the …read more

Source:: Digiday

Author: Aaron