Digital manga sales in Japan have increased by almost 30% in 2019, while the print market was down 4.3%. The entire digital publishing market, which includes ebook, comics and graphic novels generated a staggering $2.81 billion USD. Digital publishing sales made up 19.9% of the market in 2019, whereas it made up 16.1% of the market in 2018.
Print sales fell for the 15th straight year in 2019, but the format accounted for 11.31 billion USD in sales. However, print manga sales (in compiled book volume form) rose 4% in 2019, bolstered by major publishers rising prices starting in the summer of 2018 and breakout hits like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
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.