E-book market to reach EUR 5.4 bln by 2015

Worldwide digital books market will grow at an average rate of 30 percent per year between 2010 and 2015 to reach EUR 5.4 billion in 2015, or 12 percent of the total book market, according to a report by Idate. E-Book readers will also develop from 3.3 million units sold in 2010 to 29.8 million units sold in 2015, representing a 24 percent growth rate per year. North America will see an average annual growth rate of 13 percent between 2012 and 2015. At that time, sales of e-books are expected to generate a turnover of around EUR 2.2 billion. The five major European countries will experience higher growth on the same period, to reach in 2015 an overall turnover of about EUR 1.4 billion for an average annual growth rate of 30 percent over the period. While the annual growth rate of e-book sales is stabilising around 12 percent in 2011 and 2012, the Japanese market is expected to rebound in 2014, and even more in 2015. At that time, sales of digital books in Japan should total around EUR 1.7 billion. The report further shows that the most advanced countries in terms of market share are the US, Canada and the UK. In terms of value, these markets should range from 13 percent for the UK to 18 percent for the US. In terms of volume, the 2015 market share is forecasts to reach 35 percent in the US, against 21 percent in the UK. After the offer of available contents, the price is the second determining factor in the rapid rise in e-book sales. In the US, where the price of digital books is not regulated, an average price difference between printed books and e-books of almost 50 percent was recorded in 2010. Conversely, the difference is only 20 percent in France and does not encourage consumers to migrate to digital media, the report found. By 2015, the markets are expected to reach a price difference of at least 44 percent (Italy, UK, Germany), and up to 60 percent in the US. The study also forecasts that the digital book markets will be driven by the increasing penetration of connected reading devices: tablets and e-readers. On the one hand, the display technologies of tablets should improve, especially to reduce the backlight's aggressiveness and the daylight reflections. On the other hand, e-readers based on electronic ink is expected to gain in power and speed, and eventually offer colour and video support. In addition, device prices are forecast to continue to drop (less than EUR 100 for e-readers), while the spread of connectivity (3G, Wi-Fi) will foster e-books purchases among consumers.