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MINTEL-Books and E-Books - UK - September 2014 - Executive Summary
MINTEL-Books and E-Books - UK - September 2014 - Executive Summary
UK
September 2014
Unusually for any market, the 2013 merger of two of the biggest
market players in publishing caused less of a stir than the continuing
external impacts from new delivery and distribution platforms, and a user base
with shifting habits of consumption. Publishers have been relatively adept
at embracing the digital revolution, with some already investing in crowdsourcing platforms to find new authors and manuscripts with a guaranteed
reader appeal, whilst others experiment with subscription-style all-you-canread services, similar to Netflix and Spotify. Its the continuing dispute between
Amazon and the publishing giants that will determine the industry mechanics
over 2015 and beyond though, as the details of e-book pricing and control are
finally resolved.
SAMUEL GEE
Senior Technology and Media Analyst
The market
The value of the total consumer books market has been
relatively flat in the years leading up to 2014, thanks to a
consistent annual marginal drop in print book retail sales
almost but not quite offset by e-book increases. The value
of print sales fell by 28% between 2009 and 2014, with
3.3% of that estimated to have taken place in the latter
year. This is partly due to e-book migration, and partly as
the market continues to suffer in the context of a wider
decline in media buying by consumers. (See Figure 1)
Market factors
e-reader purchases are tailing off as Kindle
competitors shut down
According to quarterly research carried out and reported
in Mintels Digital Trends series of reports, e-reader
penetration in the UK has plateaued since June 2013, at
around a third of internet users. This activity has taken
place within the context of consistently growing access to
tablet computers, which were present in over 50% of UK
households as of July 2014.
In 2014, the manufacturers of two of the largest Kindle
competitors the Sony eReader and the Nook
announced that they were shutting down and spinning off
their respective businesses due to poor demand and high
production costs.
FIGURE 1: VALUE OF THE CONSUMER BOOKS AND E-BOOKS MARKET, 2009 - 2019
SOURCE: MINTEL
The consumer
Book formats consumers buy
Some 68% of internet-using consumers have purchased
a book in the last year, according to Mintels research.
Paperback fiction books remained the most popular, with
38% of consumers having purchased one over the year.
(See Figure 3)
SOURCE: GMI/MINTEL
Which, if any, of the following have you done in the last 12 months? Please select all that apply
SOURCE: GMI/MINTEL
Base: 1,194 internet users aged 16+ who bought a hardback or paperback book within the last 12 months
SOURCE: GMI/MINTEL
Digital Only is a net of Amazon, Apple iBooks/iTunes, Google Play Store and Tesco (blinkbox)
Bricks and Mortar is a net of WH Smith, Sainsburys, Blackwells, Independent bookshop, Waterstones, and Foyles
SOURCE: GMI/MINTEL
Base: 357 internet users aged 16+ who bought both print books and e-books within the last 12 months
SOURCE: GMI/MINTEL
e-book in the last year prefer to read print books, but buy
e-books as theyre less expensive. These consumers are
more likely to be women than men, and more likely to be
16-24 than over 45. (See Figure 9)
Some 26% of consumers who have bought both books
and e-books in the 12 months to April 2014 say that
they read more than they used to because e-books
cost less than paperbacks. This increase in readership
is more in evidence with e-books than print books
though.
Some 21% of consumers who read across both
formats are buying e-books because they feel they
need to make use of their e-reader.
Base: 357 internet users aged 16+ who bought print books and e-books within the last 12 months
SOURCE: GMI/MINTEL
Base: 508 internet users aged 16+ who have bought an e-book in the last year
SOURCE: GMI/MINTEL
FIGURE 10: REASONS FOR NOT HAVING PURCHASED BOOKS OR E-BOOKS, APRIL 2014
Which of the following reasons describe why you have not purchased any books or e-books in the last 12 months? Please select all that apply.
Base: 641 internet users aged 16+ who have not purchased a book in the last 12 months
SOURCE: GMI/MINTEL
WHAT WE THINK
Its true that, as many of the largest publishers seem to believe, the
market is starting to stabilise and the digital migration of consumers
is slowing down. However, for any retailer bar Amazon which dominates
e-book distribution this simply means that up to a third of all market
value is locked away, essentially unreachable. The first possible response
for traditional retailers to this is to try and convert these e-book reading
consumers not only back to print, but to print delivered through a retailer other
than Amazon. The second could be to invest in a competing e-reader platform
that all other retailers can plug into, to deliver e-books to consumers with the
ease and fluidity which Amazon delivers content onto the Kindle. Both are
difficult paths to take, and costly. Strong measures are necessary now though,
for any bookseller with a long-term view to succeeding in an environment that
is no longer turbulently or potentially, but resolutely digital.
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