Consumers who use e-book reading devices steadily increased the share of e-books in their overall book purchases throughout 2012 while simultaneously reducing the share of print books they bought, according to Bowker’s 2013 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics and Book Buying Behaviors Annual Review. According to the study, in the fourth quarter of last year, e-books constituted 80% of books purchased by consumers who own digital reading devices, compared to 74% of units in the fourth quarter of 2011. The six-percentage-point increase was accompanied by a five-percentage-point decline in the share of print units purchased among the same group of consumers (the “other” category also lost ground, dropping one percentage point). With owners of digital readers shifting more of their purchases to e-books, they also bought more of their books from online retailers, the report found. In the fourth quarter of 2012, 76% of units (both print and digital) came from online retailers, compared to 75% in the fourth quarter of 2011.
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