Ebook reader survey results

[Nate the great]

L.E.K. Consulting just released the results from a media survey conducted in December 2009. I'm not surprised by the results. I've been listening to MR members for the past couple years and my anecdotal evidence agrees with the survey results.

Here is the part about ebook readers:

E-readers are driving readership and becoming a growth driver for the book and magazine market -- the “iPod Nation” consumer segment is good, but the “e-reader Republic” offers even more opportunities for new media services
- Among active readers who own an e-reader, about 48% reported reading more books as a consequence of having such products, as compared to those who do not own an e-reader where only 15% reported reading more books (44% vs. 23%, respectively for magazines)
- 36% percent of the books read by people with e-readers represent incremental consumption—meaning more than one-third of the books read on e-readers would not have been read in print
- 40% of respondents indicated that affordability of books on e-readers was driving their increased consumption, and 47% indicated the release of more interesting books as a reason for spending more time reading print media (likely due to better discovery on e-readers)
- iPod owners consume roughly 14% more new media (8.9 hours vs. 7.8 hours per week) than the general population, while e-reader owners consume a whopping 18.2 hours of new media per week in comparison

from:
http://www.lek.com/About/Hidden_Opportunities.cfm

*******

If there is a publisher reading this, I'd like you to go back and reread the part about how ebook reader owners actually buy more books, not less. That whole "a digital book sold equals a lost paper sale" is nothing but horsepucky.

[Sydney's Mom]

Thanks - I enjoy these articles.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

L.E.K. Consulting If there is a publisher reading this, I'd like you to go back and reread the part about how ebook reader owners actually buy more books, not less. That whole "a digital book sold equals a lost paper sale" is nothing but horsepucky.

wow! deluge of emails to publishers anyone?

[brudigia]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

L.E.K. Consulting just released the results from a media survey conducted in December 2009. I'm not surprised by the results. I've been listening to MR members for the past couple years and my anecdotal evidence agrees with the survey results.

Here is the part about ebook readers:

*******

If there is a publisher reading this, I'd like you to go back and reread the part about how ebook reader owners actually buy more books, not less. That whole "a digital book sold equals a lost paper sale" is nothing but horsepucky.

I had no doubt about it. It certainly is true for me, and I believe (now I am being immodest) the same is true for almost all of the people who read this forum.
Affordability is really great, no new shelves needed at home (oh boy how that feels good!, no nagging from wifey "What ? Another one ! Where shall we put it? There is no room left in this house, you and your books!!"), everything at your fingers, what more do I want ?
And to be honest (we may or may not like it) a very big part of this is due to the Kindle which has helped in the big push.
Please, to all the wives present here, do not bash me too hard.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by brudigia

I had no doubt about it. It certainly is true for me, and I believe (now I am being immodest) the same is true for almost all of the people who read this forum.
Affordability is really great, no new shelves needed at home (oh boy how that feels good!, no nagging from wifey "What ? Another one ! Where shall we put it? There is no room left in this house, you and your books!!"), everything at your fingers, what more do I want ?
And to be honest (we may or may not like it) a very big part of this is due to the Kindle which has helped in the big push.
Please, to all the wives present here, do not bash me too hard.

ok, let's be fair here. that would be spouses and/or partners. anyone who has the bug tends to let it consume them to some extent at least

[lilac_jive]

Not surprised here. I know I read more and spend more because of my Sony. Thanks for the article Nate

[astra]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

Not surprised here. I know I read more and spend more because of my Sony.

Ditto.

I am sure publishers know it. Only they want to bully us into thinking what is convenient for them. I think they hate articles like that.

[alecE]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

...I know I read more and spend more because of my Sony.

Absolutely true for me as well - looking over my expenditure, I'm now spending at least 6x more on books since I acquired my Sony.

[brudigia]

I stand corrected.

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

ok, let's be fair here. that would be spouses and/or partners. anyone who has the bug tends to let it consume them to some extent at least

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by brudigia

I had no doubt about it. It certainly is true for me, and I believe (now I am being immodest) the same is true for almost all of the people who read this forum.
Affordability is really great, no new shelves needed at home (oh boy how that feels good!, no nagging from wifey "What ? Another one ! Where shall we put it? There is no room left in this house, you and your books!!"), everything at your fingers, what more do I want ?
And to be honest (we may or may not like it) a very big part of this is due to the Kindle which has helped in the big push.
Please, to all the wives present here, do not bash me too hard.

I wouldn't dream of bashing you. In our case, it's ME that would have the walls lined with bookshelves, but I am fortunate: Chris would be egging me on and asking where to put the next one! As much as I adore reading ebooks and not having to worry about moving them, shipping them, storing them - I also love the look of a room lined with bookshelves filled with well-loved books. Call me a contradiction...

[Alisa]

One of the biggest increases in my reading is due the instant availability. In my pbook days, when I finished my last new book, there could be days before I got my hands on a new one. Maybe I'd order one on Amazon or head to the library or book store on the weekend. I might borrow one from a friend or even read something on my shelf that I'd read before. That's rare for me but my husband did that a lot. Now, I have a new one instantly. There's no downtime. Plus I read for longer periods since it's more comfortable, so I go through books more quickly. I do get some books from the library but the selection of ebooks is poor compared to the selection of print. I think I probably buy a larger percentage of my books than I did before, too.

[charleski]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

That whole "a digital book sold equals a lost paper sale" is nothing but horsepucky.

???
But it does. I certainly buy almost no fiction in physical formats any more.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by charleski

???
But it does. I certainly buy almost no fiction in physical formats any more.

Me, neither. I find paper books a hassle now. I got a paper copy of a book I really want to read as a gift. It's not available legally as an ebook. I'm actually considering scanning it.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by charleski

???
But it does. I certainly buy almost no fiction in physical formats any more.

Yes and no. I buy absolutely no fiction in paper, but at the same time I also buy a lot more than before (or bought used before) so yes if it's something I would have bought pre-ebooks in paper it could be called a lost paper sale, but that can't be said for a lot of what I bought last year because I likely wouldn't have bought it at all or would have bought it at Half-Price-Books. I've seen others say similar things here on MR too.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by Alisa

One of the biggest increases in my reading is due the instant availability. In my pbook days, when I finished my last new book, there could be days before I got my hands on a new one.

Same here.