Pew Report: US ebook sales flat, overall book readership steady

In the US, a new report by the Pew Research Center has found overall book readership and ebook readership rates are steady, among other findings.

The Book Readership 2016 report found that 73% of American adults have a read a book in the past year, up marginally on 2015 (72%) but down from 79% in 2011, when Pew first began tracking reading habits. Sixty-five percent of those surveyed have read a print book in the previous year, up from 63% in 2015; 28% percent had read an ebook in the past year (27% in 2015), while 14% had listened to an audiobook (12% in 2015).

Ebook readership increased by 11 percentage points between 2011 and 2014, but is unchanged for the past two years. While nearly 40% read print books exclusively, just six percent ready purely ebooks. Only 8% of Americans said they used a dedicated ereader, roughly unchanged from 2011 levels.

The survey measures people who have read at least one book in whole or in part in the past year, and was conducted in March and April 2016, with just over 1500 respondents surveyed.

Category: International news