14 DAY TRIAL // The e-book industry is growing at a solid pace and is on track to drive almost $1 billion in sales this year in the US alone and this with only a small percentage of book readers buying e-books. According to a Forrester report, the sales figure will triple in the next five years.
"2010 will end with $966 million in eBooks sold to consumers. By 2015, the industry will have nearly tripled to almost $3 billion, a point at which the industry will be forever altered," James McQuivey, the author of the report, writes on the Forrester blog.
The e-book market has really matured this year, thanks especially to Amazon's Kindle Store and device. While Amazon won't disclose sale numbers, the device is the most popular product on the site.
Earlier this year, Amazon revealed that e-books were selling more than hardcover copies of the same books. Recently, Amazon upped the ante and said that it sells more digital versions of bestsellers than paperback and hardcover copies put together.
According to the report, only a relatively small number of people buy e-books, but the ones that do, unsurprisingly, are the most engaged readers.
"Just 7% of online adults who read books read eBooks. But that 7% happens to be a very attractive bunch: they read the most books and spend the most money on books," the report found.
"The average eBook reader already consumes 41% of books in digital form. Oh, and that includes the people who don’t have an eReader yet, which is nearly half of them. For those that have a Kindle or other eReader, they read 66% of their books digitally," it also said.
As the number of people reading e-books, either on dedicated devices or on multi-purpose ones like the iPad, increases so will sales of digital copies. Add to this developments in e-ink displays or the number of companies trying to create powerful online bookstores, and the numbers Forrester is predicting today may actually prove pessimistic.