Harper Collins released sales figures that gave us an introspective on how their digital strategy is working out. Year on Year their ebook division saw a gain of over 270% and saw over 100,000 books downloaded on Christmas day alone. The companies entire digital foray now accounts for over 20% in the UK alone.
Harper Collins did not really announce during its earnings call the exact semantics of specific titles or its worldwide digital strategy. Although ebooks continue to gain momentum they pale in comparison to the traditional print sales. Over 90% of the entire sales stem from paperback or hardcover books, which goes to show that this market will continue to dominate.
Specific titles that contributed to the companies accelerated growth in ebooks were eMax Hastings’ All Hell Let Loose, The Downton Abbey TV tie-in, Lorraine Pascale’s Home Cooking Made Easy, “the George RR Martin phenomenon”, and in children’s, David Walliams’ titles, as particularly strong performers in the September to December quarter.
Michael Kozlowski has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past twelve years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.