Decline In The Sales Of Printed Books Compensated By eBook Sales

Some people might display their concern over the sharply decreasing sales of the physical books but there is no need to worry since the immensely increasing sales of the electronic books almost balance the effect.

This only shows that the reading habits of people are moving from old fashioned printed books to eBooks, and not that people have started reading any less.

According to the Publisher Association (PA) of theUK, the sales of the eBooks have soared up to £70 million in 2011 from just £16 million in 2010.

On the other hand, there has been a £57 million decline in sales of traditional paperback novels. But the £54 million increase in the sales of the digital books pretty much make up for this decline.

The main reason behind this widespread popularity of the electronic books happens to be the mass acceptance of the eReaders and tablets, mainly because they are mobile as well as cost effective. Only during the single occasion of Christmas last year, about 1.3 million eReaders were sold in theUK, where one out of 3 adults is now an owner of an eReader.

The frequency at which eReaders are being sold can be estimated from the figure given by John Lewis, the department store retailer, who said that he has been selling one Kindle each 30 seconds.

However, a slight decrease in the overall sales of the physical and eBooks was seen during 2011, when the sales fell by £3 million to £559 million. But even this figure shrinks when we consider that the prices of the eBooks are much lower compared to the printed versions.

Although PA did not reveal the total number of eBooks that were sold during 2011, it was mentioned that the total number of printed books sold during this year was 115.6 which is 12.5 million lower than the previous year.

So the sales of books is pretty much the same it used to be, only the electronic books are having an increased influence in the market.

Various erotic novels, among them Fifty Shades of Grey being the most popular, are also one reason behind the popularity of the electronic books, since purchasing an eBook does not require revealing your identity.