EBooks: changing the publishing industry, PwC

PwC

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The Book Market

Reading books continues to be one of the 

most popular leisure-time occupations 

around the world, notwith standing the 

increasing use and significance of the

Internet in our daily lives. In Germany, 

for example, people said they enjoyed 

reading books more than they liked using 

the Internet, going to the movies, and 

playing video games, according to a 2009 

poll. The only leisure activities more 

popular than reading books were watching 

television, listening to music and the radio, 

and reading newspapers and magazines, 

pursuant to the poll conducted by German 

companies Axel Springer and Bauer Media. 

Other surveys show that older women tend 

to favor books, while men prefer to spend 

their leisure time with electronic media, 

such as television and the Internet.

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Books are big business. Around the world, 

people spent US$108

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 billion on books in 

2009. The region encompassing Europe, 

the Middle East, and Asia represented 

the largest share of sales. Mass market 

books, sometimes called consumer books, 

continue to increase as a percentage of 

overall book sales. In this mass market 

category, sales of books for children and 

young adults have grown steadily. eBooks 

are too new to make up a significant share

of worldwide sales.

There are many indications that books 

remain popular. Younger readers (10- to 

19-year olds) have a strong appetite for 

reading, thanks to successful books such 

as Stephenie Meyer’s vampire romance 

series Twilight. Consumers aged 40 and 

older buy the most books, while electronic 

media is more popular with consumers 

between ages 30 and 39, according to 

various industry surveys publishers 

have an opportunity to bridge these two 

demographic markets with electronic 

media– eBooks, music, video, and 

applications – to attract customers and 

create new revenue sources.