German eBook Sales Surge Past 100 Million Euros as Market Rebounds
After Rakuten Kobo was brought on board as the new technology partner of the Tolino Alliance and the regional chain stores Mayersche and Osiander joined the Tolino coalition, the dynamics in the German eBook reader market have slowed down over the past 18 months. However, although the competition in the hardware segment has eased, this does not apply to eBook sales.
As reported by the Börsenverein, the German digital book market (note: general public market) surpassed the 100 million euro mark for the first time in the first half of 2018. This achievement is attributed to an increased number of buyers and higher purchase intensity.
Infographic on development
2.7 million people purchased eBooks, representing a 6.1 percent increase compared to the same period last year. On average, 6.2 eBooks were bought per person, which is also an increase—up 9.7 percent.
At the same time, the price of eBooks dropped again. Consumers paid 4.3 percent less this year than in the first half of 2017. However, with 16.4 percent more eBooks being sold, this still led to a significant revenue increase. Overall, 16.7 million digital books were sold, resulting in a revenue growth of 11.3 percent to 100.6 million euros.
2017 Offered a Bleak Outlook
Things looked quite different back in 2017. The first two quarters of the previous year hinted at dire prospects for 2018: although purchase intensity continued to rise (5.7 eBooks per buyer; 2016: 4.9; 2015: 4.8), the number of buyers fell by 12.3 percent to 2.5 million. The high purchase intensity did boost sales by 1 percent, but revenue fell by 3.4 percent, as the average price for an eBook also dropped (down 4.4 percent).
The entire year of 2017 eventually saw a 1.4 percent revenue decline in the eBook market. The average price of an eBook settled at 6.38 euros. The number of buyers decreased from 3.8 million to 3.5 million in 2017 (a drop of 7.7 percent).
“The eBook continues to grow in significance among its users. They are intensifying their purchases and spending further. However, the competition for people’s time and attention does not spare this format either. For the second consecutive time, the eBook is experiencing a decline in buyers. The industry is currently analyzing intensively why and for what reasons buyers are turning away. The goal is to reignite excitement for both print and digital books and win back customers,” stated the Börsenverein at the time.
For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that the industry’s overall revenue in 2017 was down by 1.6 percent, meaning the eBook market did not suffer an above-average loss. In fact, its revenue share remained stable at 4.6 percent.
