Ebook Growth Continues Slowdown Through Summer, Still Huge

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Ebook Growth Continues Slowdown Through Summer, Still Huge

Categories: Industry News
December 4, 2012 | Jeremy Greenfield | 1

   

 

  

It’s been the theme all year: Growth in ebooks is slowing. And it’s true. After many straight years of triple-digit revenue growth for ebooks across the adult book trade, growth has finally dipped to a “modest” 37% so far in 2012 (through August, according to the latest numbers from the Association of American Publishers).
 
It should be said, however, that we’re talking about 37% growth on a base of $627 million. Ebooks were nowhere near that in August 2010; they were closer to $260 million, though the AAP measured the ebook numbers differently then.
 
As ebooks become a bigger piece of the publishing pie, growth as a percentage of the previous year’s total will continue to slow. But a 25% increase on $2 billion (basically where ebooks across the trade are headed this year) is about the same in actual dollars as a roughly 100% increase on $450 million (2011 vs. 2010).