eBook, it seems is losing out in favor compared to print books. With bookstores gradually coming back to life, print book sales have picked up volume, which again has been at the cost of eBook sales. According to The NPD Group, there has been an 8 percent decline in sales of eBooks for the year-to-date through June 2021 compared to the same period last year but is still 8 percent higher than what it was in 2019.
All of this comes on the back of a stunning 22 percent year-over-year jump in the sale of eBooks registered in 2020, something never seen before since 2013. However, that had much to do with the pandemic that forced most to remain indoors. That was for most of 2020 and with almost all other avenues of entertainment remaining shut, people had taken to reading books in a big way. Also, eBooks proved to be the solace during the height of the pandemic as they could be bought online and had zero chances of virus transmission, at least none that could infect humans.
However, all of that proved to be temporary with people tending to go back to the print versions as before, a trend that experts believe will prevail for the rest of the year as well. Rather, demand for print books is expected to rise further during the coming holidays though all of that would depend on how well the entire book supply chain holds for the remainder of 2021.
NPD meanwhile had other bits to share about the changing trend in reading habits of the people at large. For instance, it’s adult fiction that readers seem to fancy the most, with the same accounting for 41 percent of all eBooks sold. That said, it also is the segment that lost the most format share points, it having shed 3 points compared to the previous year.
Across segments, eBooks make up for 18 percent of all print and eBooks sold, which comes down to more than one eBook in every six books sold. For the 12-month period ending June 2021, eBooks have lost one share point compared to the same period a year ago. So, what seems evident is that eBook and print book sales are stabilizing again as we get nearer to the pre-pandemic stage.
From what the NPD research has revealed, eBook sales are declining as more people throng bookstores to buy real books. However, it will be interesting to see if there are more people reading eBooks in the post-pandemic world than what it was prior to that.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
