With social-media browsing a central feature in the lives of many, you could be forgiven for thinking that most people have less time to read on paper. But with an estimated value of $123bn, the book industry is doing better than ever.
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The increasing popularity of social media might suggest people have less time to read books. However, the book industry remains big business.
Wealthy, populous countries are home to the world's five biggest book markets and despite the increasing use of new tech, most readers still opt for print.
In America, printed books dominate the market. In fact, for 40% of Americans, print is all they'll read. Just 6% have switched to digital versions of good.
Sales of print books in America totalled just over $15bn in 2009, a figure projected to drop by almost half in 2018. But the volume of the country's ebook sales has also dropped. One reason for this dip could be cost. The average price of an ebook in America is approximately $9. That's around $1 more than a mass produced paperback.
Unless the price of ebooks decreases, the printed version is likely to remain the first choice for most readers for some time to come.
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Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: http://econ.trib.al/rWl91R7
The increasing popularity of social media might suggest people have less time to read books. However, the book industry remains big business.
Wealthy, populous countries are home to the world's five biggest book markets and despite the increasing use of new tech, most readers still opt for print.
In America, printed books dominate the market. In fact, for 40% of Americans, print is all they'll read. Just 6% have switched to digital versions of good.
Sales of print books in America totalled just over $15bn in 2009, a figure projected to drop by almost half in 2018. But the volume of the country's ebook sales has also dropped. One reason for this dip could be cost. The average price of an ebook in America is approximately $9. That's around $1 more than a mass produced paperback.
Unless the price of ebooks decreases, the printed version is likely to remain the first choice for most readers for some time to come.
Daily Watch: mind-stretching short films every day of the working week.
For more from Economist Films visit: http://films.economist.com/
Check out The Economist’s full video catalogue: http://econ.st/20IehQk
Like The Economist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist/
Follow The Economist on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theeconomist
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeconomist/
Follow us on LINE: http://econ.st/1WXkOo6
Follow us on Medium: https://medium.com/@the_economist
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