New Economist subscribers were much more likely than active panelists to already pay The New York Times
Share with a paid New York Times signal before the first observed Economist subscription, among paneled U.S. users acquired from Aug. 2024–Aug. 2026
Share already paying The New York Times
Source: YipitData U.S. e-receipt panel. New Economist subscribers n=604; active-panel benchmark n=1,322,527. New means the first observed paid onboarding signal after at least two years of prior panel observation. Free access and Espresso-only signals are excluded.
Chart data
| Series | Share already paying The New York Times |
|---|---|
| New Economist subscribers | 26.8% |
| Active panelists | 1.6% |
Which subscription usually appeared first among dual subscribers?
Within the 604-person cohort, 162 subscribers had a paid New York Times signal before their first observed Economist subscription, while 32 added The Times on or afterward. The before group was about five times the size of the after group. This establishes observed sequence for those receipts, not why either subscription was purchased.
Did adding The Economist coincide with canceling The New York Times?
Among the 162 subscribers with The Times first, 23, or about 14%, had an explicit New York Times cancellation after adding The Economist. The remaining records do not prove continued Times retention because annual billing and incomplete cancellation capture can leave subscription state unresolved. The modest sample and signal limits make this a supporting result, not evidence that The Economist displaced or preserved The Times subscription.
Assumptions & Methodologies
We analyzed YipitData’s U.S. e-receipt panel over the trailing 24 months through Aug. 17, 2026. The cohort contains 604 users whose first observed paid Economist onboarding signal occurred during the window, who had at least two years of prior panel observation, and who remained active in the panel. Paid Economist signals include onboarding, order-confirmation, renewal, and plan-change receipts; free-access and Espresso-only messages were excluded. The benchmark is 1,322,527 active panelists measured over the same window. New York Times paid state uses observed paid-confirmation and lifecycle signals. New means first observed, so some earlier subscriptions may be missed. Annual or infrequent billing can leave post-adoption state unresolved. The panel skews slightly male and upper-middle income, and audience composition may explain part of the over-index. Results describe observed sequence and association, not acquisition cause, substitution, or which subscription a household would cancel first.