EBooks: changing the publishing industry, PwC

Turning the Page: The Future of eBooks

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eReaders will continue to be the primary 

reading device for eBooks. We expect that 

eBooks will have a market share of 22.5% 

of consumer books in 2015.

The UK is lagging behind the US in terms 

of supply of devices and availability of 

content. However, market conditions are 

changing, which is reflected by market

participants reporting rising sales of 

eBooks. Furthermore, new attractive 

devices such as the Kindle are now sold 

in the UK, and it quickly sold out after its 

introduction. We expect that the eBook 

market in the UK will, to a certain extent, 

mirror the development that can be seen 

in the United States. In 2010, we expect a 

market share of 1.5%, which will rise to 

14.2% in 2015.

Germany and the Netherlands show 

similar characteristics. The supply of 

eBooks in the ePub format is limited to 

a small percentage of available books. 

Furthermore, available eReaders still lack 

the ability to satisfy customers’ needs 

concerning usability, connectivity, and 

pricing. But the situation is changing 

rapidly. 

In both countries, 2010 will be the first

year with significant sales of eBooks. We

expect a market share of 0.4% in Germany 

and 0.3% in the Netherlands. The market 

shares will rise because of increasing 

availability of content in German and 

Dutch, increasing consumer awareness, 

and advancements in eReaders and 

tablets. The numbers of eBooks available 

in the ePub format rose significantly in

both countries from 2009 to 2010. And 

apart from Apple’s iPad, eReaders with 

a wi-fi function have been introduced to

the market, including the BeBook Neo in 

the Netherlands or the Oyo Reader by the 

German bookstore chain thalia.de.

By 2015, we expect eBooks to make up 

6.3% of all book sales in Germany, and 

4.4% of all book sales in the Netherlands. 

The projection for eBook sales in the 

Netherlands is lower than in the UK, US, 

and Germany, and reflects several trends

that emerged during our consumer survey. 

Dutch consumers expressed the least 

amount of interest in eBooks and eReaders 

among the countries we surveyed and were 

least interested in using iPads or other 

tablet computers as reading devices. In 

addition, the eBook and eReader market 

is less mature than in other countries 

and eReaders in the Netherlands are still 

comparatively expensive. Finally, few 

eBooks are available in Dutch.

The book industry is undergoing a process 

of change. And it is up to the industry 

itself to ensure that the digitizing process 

does not pass by. The industry should take 

the opportunity of supplying the market 

now with innovative products before 

others do so. What aspects should the 

companies consider to ensure that eBooks 

become more than merely a cost factor 

for publishers and a new sales driver for 

Apple, Amazon, and others? What action 

is recommended for the players on the 

market?