News & Publishing Juno Editor/Paula Guran on 28 Jul 2009 03:04 pm
Secrets of Book Industry Revealed…for a Price
Bowker, the world’s leading source for bibliographic information, is offering “the first complete consumer-based research report with detailed analysis of who is buying books and what motivates them to make their purchases.” The “2008 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics and Buying Behaviors Annual Report” also “includes in-depth book data, demographics, psychographics, genre category breakdowns and distribution channel analysis. The report also includes first quarter 2009 trends, documenting that mass merchandisers picked up market share while bookstores had the largest decline.” Pricing for PDF or print-on-demand book “starts at $999 for a single-use PDF or print copy, but the company is offering a 10% discount for orders by July 31, 2009. In addition, members of the news media are entitled to a 50% discount…”
But, for free, they offer these insights:
– 57% of book buyers are women yet women purchase 65% of the books sold
in the U.S.
– Mystery books are the most popular genre for book club sales, with 17%
of all purchases of mystery books coming directly from book clubs
– Generation X consumers buy more books online than any other
demographic group, with 30% of them buying their books through the Internet
– 21% of book buyers said they became aware of a book through some sort
of online promotion or ad
– Women made the majority of the purchases in the paperback, hardcover
and audio-book segments, but men accounted for 55% of e-book purchases
Wow. Next time I have a spare $1000, I’ll get a copy!