In the first six month of 2017 it is apparent that Canadians are still enamoured with eBooks. Sales increased by 3% versus the same period in 2016 and digital books are now account for 20% of all trade sales.
Canadian book buyers spent a respectable $398 million on print books in the English-language trade market during the first six months of 2017. Paperbacks continue to be the most popular format of choice with 51% of overall sales and hardcovers are a distant second place at 23%.
Online shopping, which covers shopping on e-commerce websites, mobile app purchases, and ebook/audio downloads, also saw gains during the first half of 2017, rising from 50% to 52% over the same period last year. The second-most popular channel remains chain bookstores, with a fairly steady 25% of market share.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
