-- 57% of British consumers purchased one or more books last year,
compared to only 50% of Americans;
-- Mystery and Romance books accounted for a whopping 57% of all fiction
books purchased by Americans last year, versus just 31% of fiction
purchases in Great Britain;
-- Men were less important to the adult fiction market in the U.S. (29%
of purchases) than in Britain (40%) in 2008;
-- The #1 channel for books in the U.S. is the Internet (23% of books
purchased), while the dominant channel in Great Britain continues to be
retail bookstore chains (34%).
"This report is valuable because it places crucial business intelligence
into the hands of book publishers regarding important differences between
their two largest English-language book markets when it comes to who is
buying books, what kinds of books they're buying, what is motivating their
purchases and where they're going to buy books," said Kelly Gallagher, vice
president of publisher services for New Providence, N.J.-based Bowker. "In
addition to the noteworthy differences, there are also interesting
similarities, such as the data indicating that both markets are reliant on
older buyers, with adults over the age of 42 accounting for two-thirds of
all book purchases in both the U.S. and Great Britain."
"Comparing our Books & Consumers data with PubTrack Consumer highlights
some fascinating cultural differences, such as that Americans appear the
more romantic of the two nations based on their book buying, but are far
less literary," said Steve Bohme, research director for London-based BML.
"The comparisons are important, given that many publishers operate in both
markets and the data provides an indication of where the UK market could go
in the future, assuming it follows in the footsteps of its U.S. counterpart
in terms of, for example, the role of the Internet as a source of purchase
and influence on book choice."
The report can be ordered now by contacting PubTrack Consumer in the U.S.
(PubTrackInfo@bowker.com) or Steve Bohme in the UK
(steve@bookmarketing.co.uk). Pricing starts at US$250 or GB£150+VAT, but
the companies are offering a 10% discount for orders by October 31, 2009.
In addition, members of the news media are entitled to a 50% discount if
they are interested in purchasing the report.
PubTrack Consumer, a service of Bowker, is the publishing industry's
exclusive resource for understanding consumer book buying behavior. Data
are derived from a nationally representative panel of U.S. adult men, women
and teens that completes weekly online surveys about their book purchase
behavior. BML's ongoing Books & Consumers survey uses a nationally
representative panel of 15,000 consumers aged 12-79 to monitor book
purchasing trends and habits in Britain by format, genre, publisher,
retailer, price paid, discounting, purchase prompt, purchase use, user and
buyer demographics, and buying period.
About Bowker
Bowker is the world's leading provider of bibliographic information
management solutions designed to help publishers, booksellers, and
libraries better serve their customers. The company is focused on
developing various tools and products that make books easier for people to
discover, evaluate, order, and experience, as well as providing services to
publishers that help them better understand and meet the interests of
readers worldwide. Bowker is a member of the ProQuest family of companies
and is headquartered in New Providence, N.J., with additional operations in
England and Australia. For more information, please visit www.bowker.com.
About BML
BML was established in 1990, and is the UK's leading provider of market
research information and business intelligence on the UK book market,
undertaking research for individual publishers and book retailers, and on
behalf of syndicates, trade associations, arts organisations and government
agencies. For more information, please visit www.bookmarketing.co.uk.
Contact Information: Media Contact: Daryn Teague Teague Communications (661) 297-5292