Released: August 14, 2006

Shop Smart magazine launched by Consumer Reports

Source: By Jayne O'Donnell, USA Today

ShopSmart, the new shopping magazine for women, hit newsstands this month — with a twist. Like sister publication Consumer Reports, but unlike its competitors, ShopSmart accepts no advertising or free samples from companies. Ads and sample freebies are two staples of traditional women’s and shopping magazines. But ShopSmart’s editor-in-chief says those factors may unduly influence the magazines’ coverage.

The editor-in-chief, Lisa Lee Freeman, who’s worked for several women’s magazines, says, “The difference is we’re 100% unbiased.”

Consumer Reports, owned by the non-profit consumer advocacy group Consumers Union, receives some grants from foundations and individuals. But it’s run mostly with money from subscriptions to the magazine and its website.

Freeman says Consumer Reports spends millions of dollars a year to buy everything it tests, from cars to computers to skin creams. It employs hundreds of anonymous shoppers around the country who buy products for testing.

Freeman says it’s crucial for shopping magazines to enjoy the public’s trust and notes that the type of products ShopSmart features, in particular, require independence. Along with detailing how synthetic many purportedly “organic” creams really are, for instance, ShopSmart’s first issue reviews family cars, child seats and diet supplements.

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