EBooks: changing the publishing industry, PwC

PwC

22

1.2 

Revenue Models

Price is an obstacle to market success. 

Consumers are expecting much lower 

prices for the readers and electronic 

books. Approximately half of all people 

surveyed said eBooks and eReaders are 

too expensive. Only 15% of the consumers 

interested in buying would pay more than 

€150 (about US$210) for an eReader, and 

more than 60% said the price should be 

below €100 (about US$140). 

Consumers said eBooks should be less 

expensive than paperbacks. Respondents 

from Germany, the Netherlands, and the 

UK had similar ideas about eBook pricing; 

only those from the United States said price 

is not a critical factor. The highest price 

people are willing to pay in the UK, the 

Netherlands, and Germany is about 60% of 

the price for a paperback edition (or €6), 

while US$10 is perceived as acceptable in 

the United States. The US result is hardly 

surprising, considering that Amazon 

conditioned the market with its US$9.99 

price policy starting in 2007 – and this 

also has to be considered in conjunction 

with a much higher hardcover price in 

the United States. Even the recent price 

increases evident for eBooks will probably 

have virtually no impact on the popularity 

of electronic books in the US because most 

eBooks (about 80%) are available for about 

US$10 and because Amazon has reduced 

the prices of its eReaders.

Fig. 11  Willingness to pay for eReaders 

€50/

US$50/

£50

€50–€100/ 

US$50–US$100/

£50–£100

€100–€150/ 

€150–€200/ 

US$200–US$300/ 

£150–£200

€200–€300/ 

US$300–US$400/ 

£200–£300

≥€300/ 

≥US$400/ 

≥£300

How much you are willing to spend on an eReader? 

0%

10%

20%

30%

50%

40%

22%

21%

35%

41%

33%

36%

38%

22%

27%

22%

31%

17%

3%

1%

11%

3%

1%

11%

3%

1%

8%

3%

1%

9%

Basis: Interested in eReader

Germany

US

UK

Netherlands

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