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PwC
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and the European division of Foxit. These
companies may have succumbed to
pressure from manufacturers of tablets and
other eReaders.
In Germany, between 50,000 and 80,000
eReaders have sold up to spring 2010,
and 15,000 of them were purchased from
Weltbild (according to the company’s own
information).
Despite the extensive range of eReader
models on the market, sluggish sales are
due to various factors, including the fact
that the models have only a limited range
of functions and were comparatively
expensive for many years until a few
months ago when prices began to fall.
In addition to the normal development of
prices in the technology cycle, increased
competition posed by tablets also has
tempered eReader prices. By way of
comparison: More than 3 million iPads
were sold throughout the world in the first
80 days.
eBooks: Still a niche for mass market
reading
In the United States, there have been
signs of the market picking up appreciably
since 2008, largely due to the Kindle.
Overall, eBook sales in the United States
amounted to about €400 million, or
US$550 million, in 2009, which accounted
for approximately 3% of the mass market.
In July 2010, Amazon announced that,
for the first time in its history, it had sold
more eBooks than hardcovers, despite
rising sales of printed books. According to
information released by the company, 180
eBooks were sold in June 2010 for every
100 hardcovers; the three-month average
figure was 154 Kindle eBooks. During the
same period, Barnes & Noble boosted its
eBook market share with the Nook, to 20%.
The eBook market got a bigger boost with
the iPad, which was used for downloading
5 million eBooks (including free eBooks)
from Apple’s store in the two months
following the market launch.
Increasing sales with digital book
content, including international sales,
are indicated by the expanding sales
of eBooks for eReaders, as well as new
revenue potential, which can be primarily
realized from multimedia devices such
as tablets and smartphones. For instance,
eBooks can be enriched with multimedia
content for devices such as the iPhone or
the iPad or can be provided with up-to-
date information. A further conceivable
possibility is the facility for adding sound
or music to novels and thrillers or murder
mysteries in order to create a new reading
experience. Also, the reader could be
enabled to intervene directly in the story
and change the content. Such applications
are not suitable for all groups of products
but could be used in picture books, comics,
or special interest and travel literature, and
also in some detective stories.
In Europe, the market remained sluggish
in 2009. Germany generated scarcely
quantifiable sales of eBooks. The UK,
with its comparatively large range of
English-language books, reported only
approximately €8 million in eBook sales,
which represents less than 0.5% of the
British book market. Consumers in the
Netherlands spent €1 million on eBooks
in 2009, a marginal percentage of the
country’s book market.
Special interest books: eBooks are already
established
The comparatively small market share of
eBooks on the mass market is opposed
by an electronic special interest book
market, which is becoming more and
more important. According to the British
Publishers Association, English special
interest and scientific publishers last
year generated about €130 million with
electronic content. Because bookstore
discounts have already been deducted, the
figure is likely higher. And even the market
in the Netherlands is posting a strong
performance, although at a lower level. At
the end of 2009, eBook sales on the special
interest book market hovered around 5%.
However, the market for special interest
books in the Netherlands is not subject to
a fixed price arrangement, which indicates
that strong sales growth is possible. In
the United States, the electronic special
interest book market accounted for 10% of
sales.
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