How lucky can you get? Lucky magazine sure did with this shopping trend.

Young adults who read Lucky magazine head to the Internet to search for the latest clothing, shoes, handbags, sunglasses and makeup that were featured in the latest issue. NearbyNow, an online business of locating the closest retail outlet that stocks merchandise shoppers are searching for is benefitting from this spike in shopping searches. The article explains that the mission is to, "enable anyone, anywhere to find the nearest place to buy anything."

Browsing and shopping on the Web is a weekly and sometimes daily ritual for me. Often, I am too busy to visit a store and try to find most items online. It’s easy and convenient, which is what many consumers, including myself, are looking for today. In fact, I do the same thing that this article refers to. I read a magazine and either fold down the top corner or rip out the page. Then, I head to my computer, search for the item to check it out and finally decide if I am ready to purchase. Recently, I read the Style section of People magazine and saw a chic, cheap dress from Target (or Targee΄ as my friends call it with a French accent, of course). I read the reviews from other people that purchased the dress to find out what they thought as well as their suggestions on sizing. After a few positive and convincing reviews, I was on my way to the checkout section.

NearbyNow and Lucky are set to launch an iPhone application that brings the geo-locating concierge service to the mobile handset. The article explains that every product featured in the magazine will have a corollary in the iPhone app, which means iPhone-toting fashionistas can dial into the Lucky app and see if their nearby retail outlet has their object of their desire in stock, in their size and in the color that matches their favorite nail color. This technology will eventually be accessible on all cellular phone networks, which I know I will certainly use.

Can retailers make it any easier for me? Companies and brands are making it easier for us to connect with them and spend money. Reading a magazine not only drives people to the Web, it will ultimately drive people to their mobile device. I think this is a very smart and innovative way to get users to try a different shopping route. While I do think that sending coupons to consumers through a mobile device is a great way to get them into the store, this new trend of getting users to shop with their phone is simple and convenient.

Is Print dead?

But is it really? The answer may depend on who you ask. If you ask any account manager at People magazine, you might get a reassuring and positive answer that print is alive. However, media strategists and analysts beg to differ and insist that print is a dying medium. I am on the fence about this issue. Although I go on the Internet on a daily basis for information, I truly look forward to checking my mailbox on Friday to get my weekly issue of People magazine. A smile always comes to my face when I get it because it means that the work week is done. I can sit on my couch, forget my worries and catch up on my entertainment news. The same goes for me when it comes to high fashion magazines, such as Vogue. While both magazines have a robust website with various new articles on them, I still think there is something special and unique, even luxurious, about reading a big, high-end glossy magazine. A guilty pleasure you might ask? Whatever you want to call it works for me. I just don’t get the same feeling of excitement and relaxation when I read similar people-oriented or fashion-based articles on the Web. You just can’t curl up and relax with a computer screen and an internet-based article.

However, one benefit of the Web is speed. Since I am time-starved and busy with work and school, I turn to the Web for most of my daily news and other information such as advertising and media trends. Searching for news on the Internet is quick and easy and I get all the information with a few clicks of the mouse.

After reading an article by Jeff Jarvis, former print editor, now a consultant and blogger at BuzzMachine.com and John Griffin, President of the National Geographic Society's magazine group regarding the demise of print, I feel confident that the strong magazines will survive. I take the side of Griffin especially when he says “there is tremendous value in passionate, knowledgeable, talented editors who can assign stories and photographs with budgets to do them better and more authoritatively than any individual can. The reader of a magazine like National Geographic can depend on the information being accurate, coherent, concise, beautiful and created by the by most talented writers and photographers in the world. And readers may learn about something that they didn't know they were interested in.”

Spending quality time with engaging content and entertaining visuals truly makes for a luxurious experience that readers can’t recreate on the Internet.