Tesco, Asda and National Trust were the top three magazines, and the circulation of customer titles within the top 100 has increased 9.5% since the first half of 2011. Six of the magazines appearing in the top 10 are now customer titles since Saga magazine reached number 10 in the latest July-December ABC figures.

Tesco Magazine reported the largest period-on-period growth at 4.7% and the largest year-on-year growth came in at 4.4% for Tesco Real Life.

Demand for print remained relatively stable as net circulation decreased 1.4% on the previous year, totalling 1.2bn magazines for the six-month period.

This is despite some double digit declines across consumer magazines, notably in men’s lifestyle. Loaded fell 30.2% on July’s figures, while weeklies Zoo and Nuts dropped by 20.4% and 19.8% respectively even though the overall decline for the sector was 5.2%.

Pre-school and pre-teen magazines along with leisure interest publications were the only two sectors reporting double digit growth at 27.2% and 12.4%. Computing magazines had the worst net circulation figures at 621,267, a drop of 13.4% since last year.

Private Eye’s circulation is at a 25-year high with a 10.1% boost in circulation as it celebrates its fiftieth anniversary.

Bauer Media’s Eat In reported a 52.5% growth as the domestic sector grew by 12.3% overall. Meanwhile, cookery magazine FANCY overtook competitor Jamie with a 15.4% increase on the previous period, bringing its total circulation to 57,759.

Take a Break sold more than double the number of its competitors, consolidating its lead in the real life sector. However, its 791,001 circulation showed a 5.1% drop on the previous year.

Digital editions of magazines increased by 400%, growing from 16 reported in the last period to 72. But circulation remains low as Men’s Health, top in the digital edition sector, reports a net average of 7,799.

Bauer UK group production director Frank Ryan said: "There has been a whole mix in run lengths and paginations across titles – some are up and down, others are stable. That’s the way it is.

"There has been a lot of [digital] activity for the industry but mainly for specific titles that can manage that type of data. Of course, where you are extending the brand, it is great but I can’t see how it will be of benefit for women’s magazines for example, where there is no real need to show an accompanying film on the iPad."