Electronic editions of books account for a mere 5% of dollar sales of books in 2010, up from 1.5% in 2009, according to Book Industry Study Group (BISG) and R.R. Bowker. It is a small proportion, however, it is on the cusp of substantial growth as an increasing number of Americans embrace e-readers. BISG attributes the increase between 2009 and 2010 to the popularity of e-readers as holiday gifts, and it expects the devices to be even more common in 2011.
A slight majority of avid readers (51%) have increased their purchase of e-books in the prior year, which is about four times the number who increased their purchase of physical book formats. Meanwhile, physical book formats suffered, with more than a third reporting they decreased their purchase of hardcover and paperback books.
Since book buyers acquired their first e-book, 15% buy only e-books, unless there is not an e-book version available, and 9% buy only e-books even if there is no e-book version. A quarter (25%) buy mostly e-books, 17% have no preference, and 19% say it depends on the book. Only 8% buy only print books. In fact, 32% of avid readers would wait up to three months to buy the e-book edition rather than the hardcover edition of a new title, compared to 21% who would succumb and buy the hardcover, and 9% who would buy both versions.
The most common reasons readers prefer e-books on e-readers is because they are portable (2.67, on a scale from 0 to 3 where 0 is no benefit to 3 is high benefit), offer instant access to books (2.62), can carry multiple titles on one device (2.61), have access to a large selection of e-books (2.58), and can take advantage of the low cost of e-books compared to print books. [Technology, Print Media]
Source: “Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading,” Book Industry Study Group, Angela Bole, 370 Lexington Ave., #900, New York, NY 10017; 646-336-7141; angela@bisg.org; www.bisg.org. Pricing: See the BISG website for pricing tiers.
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