In contrast, consumer magazines experienced a 6.8% circulation drop in the same half-year period.

Customer magazines account for 12 of the top 20 magazines in terms of circulation, and more than a quarter (29) of the top 100.

Julia Hutchison, chief operating officer of the APA, said the recent economic downturn had "exacerbated" the success of customer magazines with brands acknowledging magazines as a method to engage with customers.

She said: "The medium is so effective because it allows for consumers to receive a physical embodiment of a brand in times when they are receiving less and less for their money."

Elsewhere, hobbies, soap operas and personal finance titles performed well between July and December.

BBC Magazines' Easy Cook enjoyed a 20.4% year-on-year increase in circulation, while Golf World jumped 19.2% and Runner's World by 6.6%.

Lifestyle magazine Stuff, owned by PrintWeek owner Haymarket and printed at Wyndeham Heron, had a circulation increase of 7.9% with Esquire up 3.3%. In the financial sector, The Economist, printed at St Ives Peterborough, rose 3.1% with MoneyWeek up 16.6%.

In the women's weeklies arena, the average issue circulation dropped 2.6%, despite Bella and Hello! putting in good showings with increases of 16.9 and 7.1% respectively.

Emily Fovargue, head of publishing at Royal Mail, said: "Magazines remain incredibly relevant and engaging for consumers and we recently found that over three-quarters of UK brands considered most trustworthy by consumers publish a customer title, which is surely no coincidence."