eBooks - Beyond the hype

© 2011, the Book Industry Study Group Publishing Xchange 2011 • Washington, DC 1

E-Books:Beyond the Hype

Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading(Overview of the 2010-2011 Survey & Report)

Monday, April 4, 2011

© 2011, the Book Industry Study Group 2

Panelists... John Parsons (moderator)

Principal, Byte Media Strategies Former Editorial Director, The Seybold Report

Scott Lubeck Executive Director, the Book Industry Study Group

Carl Kulo Director of Market Research, PubTrack, a division of R.R. Bowker



About BISGCreating a more informed, empowered and efficient book industry supply chain for both physical and digital productsEnhancing relationships between trading partners, through promotion of industry-wide standards, best practices, research and events



Improving the “signal-to-noise ratio”



Three years ago (or so) we had... A predictable

supply chain model

A stable product medium

A healthy economy



Today... Fragmenting

supply chain Mixing

mediums An unstable

economy



Supply chain to...



Supply chain to...

Customer-driven process



The puzzle we’re now solving

Illustration taken from The Math Book: From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension by Clifford A. Pickover, Sterling Publishing



The tech-centric view of the cube

CRM



The customer-centric view



Consumerattitudes series... Volume 1:

2009-2010 Volume 2:

2010-2011 Next issue

due in lateApril 2011



About the Data



Measuring consumer attitudes



Measuring consumer attitudes PubTrack™ Consumer panel of U.S. book

buying men, women and teens




buying men, women and teens Demographics consistent with U.S. Census

data





data Survey pool of ~44K book consumers at the

time of each survey fielding





data Survey pool of ~44K book consumers at the

time of each survey fielding Respondents selected from those who selected

“Digital/E-book” as a binding type — and/or stated they owned an e-reading device



Measuring consumer attitudes



Measuring consumer attitudes Sample size = 750 (for each fielding)



Measuring consumer attitudes Sample size = 750 (for each fielding) “TrueSample” methodology used to insure

respondent identity and integrity of answers




respondent identity and integrity of answers Margin of error: ±3.44%




respondent identity and integrity of answers Margin of error: ±3.44% 95% confidence level



Information collected



Information collected Questions based on research needs collected

by BISG member organizations





Part 1: E-book purchasing and consumption behavior, preferences, impact on purchase of paper editions, etc.





Part 1: E-book purchasing and consumption behavior, preferences, impact on purchase of paper editions, etc.

Part 2: E-reader devices, their relative strengths and weaknesses, and consumers’ reasons for acquiring them



Real-Time Reporting The basis for

each summary report

Also available by subscription



E-books are “looking up”



The Findings



Findings from September 2010 fielding



Findings from September 2010 fielding Defining e-book “power buyers”

Power buyers (those who acquire e-books at least weekly) are younger, more urban and more affluent. Their reading behavior also differs in many ways from other consumers.





Major e-book trends Units increase but revenues decrease, as consumers

seek value in more affordable digital formats.





Major e-book trends Units increase but revenues decrease, as consumers

seek value in more affordable digital formats.

E-reader device trends Dedicated e-readers are rapidly replacing PCs as

consumer-preferred devices for e-book reading. Tablet use is increasing, but not dominant.



Power buyer demographics Younger consumers have a greater tendency to

be power buyers than does the average e-book consumer.

QUESTION: Which of the following best describes your frequency of acquiring e-books (either purchased or free)?



Power buyer demographics E-book power buyers

tended to lag in allbut two income levels.

QUESTION: Which of the following best describes your frequency of acquiring e-books (either purchased or free)?



Power buyer reading preferences Greater preference for non-fiction e-book

titles

QUESTION: Which genre(s) are you more likely to read as an e-book rather than a print book? Select up to three. (Categories aggregated by authors.)



Power buyer device preferences E-book power buyers lead the trend towards

dedicated e-readers, and away from using PCs for e-book reading

QUESTION: What device do you now use most frequently to read e-books? Select only one.



Major E-Book Trends Trade titles (education market = separate

study) Emphasis on linear reading experience Survey examined:

° Impact on total purchase behavior° Sources of e-book acquisition° Preferred e-book genres° E-book features and benefits° Key influencers of e-book acquisition



Impact of e-books on total book









What does this mean?

* next fielding will track dollar amounts as well as titles



What does this mean? E-book readers buy fewer print titles

(obvious implications: long-term erosion of print sales)






Early data suggest slight net increase in total unit sales* to frequent e-book consumers° However, lower e-book pricing negates this benefit° Net decrease is indicated in second fielding







Mandates to publishers:° Streamline, automate print/e-book production

workflow° E-book production cannot be a separate (costly)

process* next fielding will track dollar amounts as well as titles






Mandates to publishers:° Streamline, automate print/e-book production

workflow° E-book production cannot be a separate (costly)

process Long-term need for more compelling,

interactive e-book content* next fielding will track dollar amounts as well as titles



Desirable e-book features Price and

ease of use topthe list...

QUESTION: How important are each of the following character-istics of e-books when you decide to purchase an e-book rather than a print book of the same title?



E-book purchase sources

QUESTION: Where do you typically acquire e-books (either purchased or free)? Select your top three sources of e-book content.



E-reader device trends Dedicated e-readers dominate the field Reading trade e-books on PCs in sharp decline

Tablets: third place; increasing slowly Smartphones in last place

QUESTION: What device do you now use most frequently to read e-books? Select only one.



Perceived e-reader benefits Convenience factors predominate Cost issues tend to be secondary Technology

distinctions*not perceivedas high value

QUESTION: How much of a benefit are each of the following for this device?

* Only 9 of 20 factors shown here.



Perceived e-reader problems Convenience issues again predominate Problems less

pronounced than benefits

QUESTION: To what extent do you feel the following are "problems" of this device to read e-books?



What’s next?



What’s next? E-books finally established as a viable aspect

of the book publishing business




of the book publishing business Continued growth




of the book publishing business Continued growth Increasing consumer demands for richer

experience° Interactive content (cost/benefit dilemma)° Networking/sharing/personalization aspect of e-

reading






reading Business models are in flux






reading Business models are in flux Opportunities exist for smaller,

entrepreneurial publishers and authors (but don’t count out the major players)



Much more to come...



Much more to come... Current summary report (Volume 2, No. 1)

available now




available now Next summary report in process (due late

April)° continued tracking of power buyers, e-book/e-

reader trends° holiday buying behavior° market velocity of iPad and other tablets







Detailed data (Real-Time Reporting) available by subscription















Separate study (e-books for higher education) also available



For More InformationBISG Web site: www.bisg.org

About the study: http://bit.ly/56Y1FsTo order: http://bit.ly/eXuWYzQuestions: [email protected]


Documents

eBooks - Beyond the hype