Consumers Widening Choice of Places to Buy Books

Jim Milliot |

Sep 25, 2000

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Consumers Widening Choice of Places to Buy Books Jim Milliot -- 9/25/00 *Found to continue buying books from a variety of outlets* A consumer book-buying study co-sponsored by BookExpo America and Publishers Weekly found that most consumers plan to continue to buy books from a variety of outlets. Approximately 90% of the 1,140 book buyers who completed an online survey in July about book buying said they will continue to purchase books at bricks-and-mortar stores, while only 10% said they expect to buy books exclusively online. About 57% of respondents said they bought a book online in the past year, a result substantially higher than findings in other industry surveys, but not surprising given that the PW survey was taken online by people comfortable with using the Internet. The good news for e-retailers is that eight in 10 consumers who bought a book online were highly satisfied with the experience, and that 82% plan to continue to buy books via the Internet. Another 20% said that buying books online is now their preferred way to buy books. But while the majority of respondents used the Internet as one way to buy books, the most popular place to buy books remained bookstore chains, with 72% of respondents buying books through those outlets. Forty percent said they buy books at mass merchandisers, and 28% said they buy books at independent stores. Results from the PW survey closely matched the findings of a recent survey on the subject of e-books conducted by Seybold in that the majority of respondents do not expect to buy an e-book in the near term. Seventy percent of PW respondents said they were not likely to buy an e-book over the next six months, while 66% of Seybold respondents said they did not expect to buy an e-book over the next year (E-Publishing, Sept. 18). On the positive side, 63% of respondents said they were aware of e-books, although in what may become a problem for e-book publishers, 84% said they expect e-books to be less expensive than print editions. While respondents expect e-books to cost less than printed titles, the survey found that most respondents thought books were overpriced. They said a "fair price" for a hardcover bestseller would be $16, while paperbacks should cost between $6 and $7. The complete version of the Consumer Book Buying Study 2000 will be available from Cahners Research in October for $50.

News

Consumers Widening Choice of Places to Buy Books
Jim Milliot -- 9/25/00
Found to continue buying books from a variety of outlets

A consumer book-buying study co-sponsored by BookExpo America and Publishers Weekly found that most consumers plan to continue to buy books from a variety of outlets. Approximately 90% of the 1,140 book buyers who completed an online survey in July about book buying said they will continue to purchase books at bricks-and-mortar stores, while only 10% said they expect to buy books exclusively online.

About 57% of respondents said they bought a book online in the past year, a result substantially higher than findings in other industry surveys, but not surprising given that the PW survey was taken online by people comfortable with using the Internet. The good news for e-retailers is that eight in 10 consumers who bought a book online were highly satisfied with the experience, and that 82% plan to continue to buy books via the Internet. Another 20% said that buying books online is now their preferred way to buy books. But while the majority of respondents used the Internet as one way to buy books, the most popular place to buy books remained bookstore chains, with 72% of respondents buying books through those outlets. Forty percent said they buy books at mass merchandisers, and 28% said they buy books at independent stores.

Results from the PW survey closely matched the findings of a recent survey on the subject of e-books conducted by Seybold in that the majority of respondents do not expect to buy an e-book in the near term. Seventy percent of PW respondents said they were not likely to buy an e-book over the next six months, while 66% of Seybold respondents said they did not expect to buy an e-book over the next year (E-Publishing, Sept. 18). On the positive side, 63% of respondents said they were aware of e-books, although in what may become a problem for e-book publishers, 84% said they expect e-books to be less expensive than print editions.

While respondents expect e-books to cost less than printed titles, the survey found that most respondents thought books were overpriced. They said a "fair price" for a hardcover bestseller would be $16, while paperbacks should cost between $6 and $7.

The complete version of the Consumer Book Buying Study 2000 will be available from Cahners Research in October for $50.

A version of this article appeared in the 09/25/2000 issue of Publishers Weekly under the headline: