the favorite printed book, the popular audio book

According to data unveiled by The NPD Group, an American company specializing in market research, reading remains an activity popular with Americans, who are apparently 3 out of 4 "consumers" to have read a book or listened to an audiobook in the last six months. Despite this encouraging state of affairs, reading still loses some points compared to other cultural occupations.

(photo illustration, Marco Nürnberger, CC BY 2.0)

Reading remains a central cultural activity in the lives of Americans, says The NPD Group in a statement that includes some elements of a book market research. Those surveyed by the institute admitted, however, that they read less than the previous year. If the methods of calculation are not exposed, they would read on average 9% less than in 2018, a decline that would primarily concern people aged 45 to 54 years.

A slight stall, therefore, which is offset by more encouraging data: the audiobook would have conquered the 18-44 years, an age group considered crucial by trade and marketing specialists. In other words, the individuals most likely to spend money, and especially in cultural products.

Individuals who claim to read and listen to audiobooks report an increase in their spending on listening to them by up to 10%. And, definitely, the ability to do several things both seduces the audience and leads to read titles.

The printed book makes resistance

" Auditors of audiobooks are also the ones most likely to engage in all forms of book-related activities, making them valuable consumers in terms of purchasing power. "Kristen McLean, book specialist for Bookscan. " They practice a reading that puts all media on an equal footing, since they listen to audio books, but also read books, magazines, comics. "Despite this youthful infatuation with audio, the printed book is still the crucial element of the book industry and reading habits. More than half of those surveyed by NPD have opened at least one print book in the last six months, compared to only one-quarter who have plunged into a digital book. Observations that are consistent with Bookscan's book sales surveys: the printed book now accounts for 81% of total sales, up from 72% in 2013.

This growth is explained by a desire to move away from screens, especially for the youth book, with a parental concern for the eyes of toddlers. It should also be added that the NPD data does not include sales of Amazon digital books, including Kindle ebooks, which could somewhat change the results …