Sales of U.S. magazines at retail outlets fell 11 percent in the second half of 2008, but overall circulation was down just 0.9 percent, according to figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the Associated Press reported.

Overall circulation of the 535 magazines reporting figures was more than 345 million. Subscriptions fell by 0.5 percent in the second half of the year, much less than single-copy sales, which help boost publishers’ revenues due to higher per-copy prices.

According to Folio, 75 percent of the magazines reporting results saw their single-copy sales decline, while 116 increased sales at newsstands. Overall circulation at 329 magazines declined, while 239 magazines reported an increase.

Meredith Corp.’s shelter and domestic titles especially faired poorly. Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies Home Journal newsstand sales fell 39.1 percent to 231,333 and 40.3 percent to 230,911, respectively, MediaPost reported. Country Home, which Meredith will stop printing after the March issue, was down 28.2 percent.

Cosmopolitan was the top-selling magazine at newsstands, with 1.8 million single-copy sales in the second half of last year, a 6 percent drop. People magazine came in second with 1.5 million copies sold, a 3 percent increase; it was the only major celebrity weekly to report a gain.

Despite newsstand gains for the three top news magazines during an election year, Newsweek and U.S. News total circulation dropped sharply, while Time’s sales were flat.