Trendspotting: Novel Expansion

By Angie Argabrite, Thursday, March 1, 2012, at 9:01 am.

All that end-of-the-year optimism about e-book sales got a hip check when a new study found that 74 percent of bookworms have yet to purchase an e-book, even though the number of book buyers who also purchased an e-book rose 17 percent in 2011. E-book popularity varies greatly by genre, accounting today for 26 percent of adult fiction sales, 11 percent of children’s book sales and 3 percent of cookbook sales. Once consumers convert, their loyalty for e-books holds tight. Within seven to 12 months of purchasing their first digital book, 72 percent of “power buyers” (those who go through at least four books a month) switch to e-books exclusively, especially as they grow ever more alluring, enhanced with songs, videos, short films and flashy graphics. The consensus now is that there’s no turning back, as the tablet proves easy to use for people of all ages and popular with those even in emerging markets. Apple sold 15.43 million iPads during the holiday quarter—setting all-time records (for its iPhones and Mac computers, too)—and touch computing is being invited into ever more circles, with Apple diving into digital textbooks. Meanwhile, 4 million Kindles were sold in December, just edging out the Samsung Galaxy Tab as the top Android tablet. We proclaimed that “Got Tablet?” could very well be the catchphrase for 2012, and it’s certainly shaping up to be—for the well-read and for the long haul.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 1st, 2012 at 9:01 am. It is filed under Brainsnacks, Technology, Trends and tagged with Android, Apple, author, book, digital, digital books, e-books, enhanced books, iPad, iPhone, Kindle Fire, Mac computer, power buyers, publishing, Samsung Galaxy Tab, tablet, technology trends, writer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.