Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Covered in this Report
Executive Summary
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- Print up as consumer confidence returns to book market
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- Figure 1: Forecast of total consumer print book market sales, 2010-20
- But e-book growth hits the buffers
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- Figure 2: Forecast of total consumer e-book market sales, 2010-20
- E-reader sales dry up but Amazon sees Oasis of opportunity
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- Figure 3: Household ownership of consumer technology products, January 2013-December 2015
- Amazon print penetration up seven points…
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- Figure 4: Retailers used to buy print books in the past 12 months, April 2014 and March 2016
- …and its e-book dominance remains unchecked
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- Figure 5: Retailers used to buy e-books in the past 12 months, April 2014 and March 2016
- Readers still get physical
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- Figure 6: Ways of reading books in the past 12 months, April 2014 and March 2016
- Millennials offer new revenue potential
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- Figure 7: Ways of adding value to the book buying process, March 2016
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Price is key but experiential factors remain a core strength for bookshops
- The facts
- The implications
- Digital reading may be in transition but there is no mainstream challenger to e-ink on the horizon
- The facts
- The implications
- Scope for a challenger platform and a packaged alternative for digital readers
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Print growth continuing into 2016
- Market fragmented beyond leading players
- Waterstone’s strategy for success on high street
- Agency deals contribute to e-book stagnation
- Pockets of digital growth
- E-reader ownership reaches plateau at three in ten adults
- Industry trying to find sustainable digital ‘sub’ model
Market Size and Forecast
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- Print revival driving market growth
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- Figure 8: Value of total consumer book market sales, 2010-20
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- Figure 9: Value of total consumer market print book sales, 2010-20
- But e-books sales growth has stalled
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- Figure 10: Value of total consumer market e-book sales, 2010-20
- Forecast
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- Figure 11: Forecast of total consumer book market sales, 2010-20
- Figure 12: Forecast of total consumer print book market sales, 2010-20
- Figure 13: Forecast of total consumer e-book market sales, 2010-20
Market Share and Segmentation
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- Market leader sees 9% value growth in 2015
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- Figure 14: Value of consumer market print book sales, by leading publishers, 2011-15
- Big five see digital sales decline
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- Figure 15: Volume of consumer market e-book sales, by ‘big five’ publishers, 2011-15
- Digital maintains large slice of fiction
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- Figure 16: The UK physical book market end purchase sales by category, 2010-14
- Romance and graphic novels lead print revival in fiction
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- Figure 17: Value of consumer market print book sales, by type of book, 2015
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- Figure 18: Value of consumer market print book fiction sales, by genre, 2015
- Colouring craze drives non-fiction growth
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- Figure 19: Value of consumer market print book non-fiction sales, by genre, 2015
Market Background
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- Confidence returns to high street
- But independent picture is more mixed
- Role of campaigns
- Impact of library closures
- Instant gratification
- E-reader ownership flat but no migration to mobile
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- Figure 20: Household ownership of consumer technology products, January 2013-December 2015
- Waterstones removes Kindle but Amazon intensifies e-book domination
- Upward price pressure on e-books
- Digital subscriptions are a work in progress
- EU investigations could affect Amazon
Launch Activity and Innovation – What You Need to Know
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- Boutique bookshops
- Events and communities
- Re-inventing the book
- Short and fast versus long and slow
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Designer bookstores
- Meet the author
- WH Smith targeting young adult readers
- Book/app hybrids
- Designed for digital
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Amazon consumer penetration up seven points
- Bookshops can up their online game
- Apple – The sleeping book giant?
- Will digital natives embrace mobile books?
- Tangibility and browsing remain key emotional factors
- Communities of engagement
- Beyond text
Book Buying Habits
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- Two thirds of adults buy books
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- Figure 21: Book formats bought in the past 12 months, March 2016
- Audiobook potential
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- Figure 22: Type of books bought in the past 12 months, March 2016
- Brands can help kids develop reading habit
Book Retailers Used
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- Amazon reaps benefit of print revival
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- Figure 23: Retailers used to buy print books in the past 12 months, April 2014 and March 2016
- Books used to sell lifestyle brands
- Amazon’s online dominance unchallenged
- Virtual book shops
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- Figure 24: Retailers used to buy print books in the past 12 months, in-store and online, April 2014 and March 2016
- Low channel-hopping
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- Figure 25: Number of retailers used to buy print books in the past 12 months, March 2016
- Amazon still the only major digital player in town
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- Figure 26: Retailers used to buy e-books in the past 12 months, April 2014 and March 2016
How Books Are Read
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- E-reader declines but no tablet/smartphone growth
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- Figure 27: Ways of reading books in the past 12 months, April 2014 and March 2016
- E-book buyers show some device diversity
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- Figure 28: Ways of reading books in the past 12 months, by e-book buyers, March 2016
- Bookshops missing out on digital
- Overall reading habits point to male problem
What Factors Are Important to Book Buyers?
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- Price is key factor overall
- But ‘pre-digital’ emotional values remain important
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- Figure 29: Influential factors in how people buy books, factors rated 4 or 5, March 2016
- Speed of delivery also important
- Beautiful books and beautiful bookshops
- Experts versus algorithms
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- Figure 30: Influential factors in how people buy books, March 2016
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- Figure 31: Factors influencing how people buy books, factors rated 4 or 5, print book versus e-book buyers, March 2016
- Digital books in transit
- Transferability seen as key factor by digital readers
Potential Ways of Engaging Book Buyers
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- Millennial potential
- Bookshops as event venues
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- Figure 32: Ways of adding value to the book buying process, March 2016
- Exclusive content
- New horizons
- Print/digital combinations
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- Figure 33: Ways of adding value to the book buying process, print book buyers versus digital book buyers, March 2016
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- Figure 34: Ways of adding value to the book buying process, by ways people read books, March 2016
Appendix
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- Definition
- Abbreviations
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