December 2008 eBook Sales Statistics Released (+119.9%)

[anurag]

http://www.idpf.org/doc_library/industrystats.htm

+119% is the Year Over Year increase.

[HarryT]

Note that this is in the US only. No information about how eBook sales are going for the other 95% of the world's population .

[lilac_jive]

I'm not suprised one bit

[giddion]

I said in another thread, I think the proliferation of touch screen phones and the bad economy giving people a lot of free time will be a big boon to the ebook publishers and retailers.

[zelda_pinwheel]

wow, that is excellent news ! but like lilac said, not that surprising. i doubt the figures are quite so impressive in the rest of the world, where ebooks are only beginning to be available and market penetration is not comparable, however i would bet that sales are rising in europe as well particularly since the launch of the sony 505 in several european countries (with more to come soon).

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Note that this is in the US only. No information about how eBook sales are going for the other 95% of the world's population .

True, but I only buy from the US ....

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i doubt the figures are quite so impressive in the rest of the world, where ebooks are only beginning to be available and market penetration is not comparable,

Don't forget that eBooks are VERY big in Japan, but the main market there is reading on mobile phones.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Don't forget that eBooks are VERY big in Japan, but the main market there is reading on mobile phones.

perhaps, but that's just one country. in europe they're only just starting to take off, and in most third world countries i doubt they common at all.

[HarryT]

Very high percentage growth is perhaps symptomatic of the fact that the market is currently very immature - it's easy to double your sales when you're starting from a small figure; much harder to do so in a more mature marketplace.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Very high percentage growth is perhaps symptomatic of the fact that the market is currently very immature - it's easy to double your sales when you're starting from a small figure; much harder to do so in a more mature marketplace.

of course that's true, but the fact that there is a healthy growth is encouraging because it means the ebooks are gaining penetration, which will eventually lead to more publishers taking them seriously and making them available, which in turn will lead to more market penetration since more of the titles people want to read will be available... if this year isn't the tipping point for ebooks then at the very least i think it's not far off.

for example, ebook sales in france are probably still negligeable, but this is primarily because very few titles are available as ebooks (every time i search for a specific book i want, it's not available, for instance). but little by little more titles are appearing (the fnac now advertises over 3000 titles ; since they only launched their ebookstore last autumn with the release of the sony 505, that's a decent start i think although it still leaves a lot to be desired), and as more people buy the ones which *are* available, hopefully more publishers will see that and produce their own... i think it's very much an ouroborous phenomenon.

[GeoffC]

Interestingly the graphs only show monies, not actual ebooks....not necessarily an ideal measure....

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Interestingly the graphs only show monies, not actual ebooks....not necessarily an ideal measure....

but i suspect it's the measure the publishers are most sensitive to.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

but i suspect it's the measure the publishers are most sensitive to.

as we are too, when they charge hardbook prices from time to time ....

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

but i suspect it's the measure the publishers are most sensitive to.

True but profit margin makes a huge difference. Of course if it seems they can keep increasing volume, they may be willing to take a bit lower margin.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Alisa

True but profit margin makes a huge difference. Of course if it seems they can keep increasing volume, they may be willing to take a bit lower margin.

:spluttersoverkeyboard: