Sales of printed novels have fallen by a quarter in the first two months of this year due to the increased popularity of e-readers such as the Kindle.
According to Nielsen BookScan, a company which tracks book sales, the number of printed books sold is falling sharply Photo: ALAMY
Britons bought 7.6 million novels over the first eight weeks of 2012, almost two and a half million fewer than they bought in the opening weeks of 2011, new figures show.
When sales of non-fiction and children’s books are included, the total number of books sold in the UK fell by 4.7 million to 25 million over the eight week period, according to Nielsen BookScan, which compiles data from across the high street.
The decline in sales of printed books – as opposed to electronic books - means that bookshops have taken £28 million less through their tills than they did a year ago, raising further questions over whether traditional book retailers have a future on the high street.
The fall in sales of physical books has been attributed to the rapidly-growing popularity of Kindles and other e-readers, which display virtual books that are downloaded from the internet. Almost 1.4 million e-readers were sold in the UK over Christmas, double the amount sold the year before.
In stark contrast to the decline in sales of physical books, e-book sales are soaring. According to the latest figures from the Publishers Association, e-book sales rose by 623 per cent between January and June last year.
Full report at The Telegraph
Full report at The Telegraph
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