New Survey of Book-Buying Trends

How will changing technology affect readers, writers, and the book industry of the future? We can all speculate, but here's some hard data from a recent survey of book-buying behavior. Among other things, the survey addresses the growth of the ebook market. A few highlights:

• People reading 5 or more hours per week are considered "avid readers," and there are an estimated 62.4 million of these avid readers in the United States.
• 52% of respondents said they were “not at all likely” to purchase an e-reader.
• When book buyers were asked their preferred location to buy a book 23% preferred indie stores, 22% preferred chains, and 21% preferred online retailers.
• 42% of respondents said they were at least somewhat likely to buy a bundled package that includes a print book and a digital version. 35% responded “Not sure” to this question.

What do you think will happen with print books and ebooks?

Image: Book People Bookstore, Austin, TX