SURVEY M Libraries And Bookstores Are Excellent Billboards Selling eBooks; Readers See An Enticing Book In The Bricks-And-Mortar Building, Then Buy It Online; Book Discussion Groups Hold Their Own In Transition To eBooks—Pre-Kindle And Post-Kindle Comparisons (Part 3)

SURVEY M Libraries And Bookstores Are Excellent Billboards Selling eBooks; Readers See An Enticing Book In The Bricks-And-Mortar Building, Then Buy It Online; Book Discussion Groups Hold Their Own In Transition To eBooks—Pre-Kindle And Post-Kindle Comparisons (Part 3)

By Tom Dulaney, Contributing Reporter

(The concluding post in a three-part series comparing people's book buying behavior before and after the arrival of the Kindle and ebooks.)

Two questions in the Winter 2011 Kindle Nation Citizen Survey conducted in January sought to learn how buying habits and patterns have changed with the advent of the Kindle and ebooks. Some 2,275 respondents shared pre-Kindle and post-Kindle ebook buying details.

Each question delved into one of 9 specific book purchasing behaviors. This is the first article in a short mini-series comparing pre-Kindle and post-Kindle patterns, an attempt to divine how—if at all—the ebook revolution impacts book reading and book buying.

SURVEY STATEMENT: “I bought a book/an ebook after noticing the hardcover or paperback edition in a store or library.”

Bookstore displays are obvious marketing tools. Libraries are less obvious venues where readers see a promising title, then buy the book instead of borrowing it for free.

With the advent of the Kindle and ebooks overall, librarians may not be miffed at losing a “borrow,” but one wonders how Barnes & Noble feels about being a showroom for the Kindle Store.

The before and after comparisons in this question are a bit like comparing Macintosh and Granny Smith apples, at least in terms of what respondents in the different groupings based on frequency of purchase are doing.

The big news, of course, is the switch from paper to ebook. Physical books in libraries and bookstores are fronting, in surprisingly high numbers, for ebooks. Impulse buying in the store seems to be taking a beating due to ebooks, the numbers hint.

In any event, before ebooks, 80% were prompted to buy a particular book after seeing it in the bookstore or library. After the ebook revolution began, the percentage dropped to 71%. Avid readers halved the rate, from 6% before Kindles to 3% after. Those buying once or twice a month remained nearly unchanged: 11% before, 10% after. The group browsing in bricks and mortar then buying 3 to 10 times a year in print was 30%. Since ebooks became available, 25% of those real world browsers purchased an ebook via Kindle, app-enabled other device, or computer.

There was virtually no change over the period for those buying once or twice a year: 33% before ebooks, 32% afterwards. While their frequency of purchsing didn't change, the big news is the group switch from paper to ebook format.

There was an increase in those never prompted to buy after seeing a real world display. Before ebooks, 20% left the store empty handed. After ebooks, 29% did not buy the ebook edition of the title.

SURVEY STATEMENT: "I bought a book so that I could read and discuss it with friends or neighbors in a book group or other setting."

At least as indicated within the confines of this question covering both pre-ebook and post-ebook buying influences, things have changed little if at all. The total who bought a title to discuss in a book club or with friends rose slightly to 33% from 30%. At all frequencies of buying, the percentages are nearly identical, so at issue here is not the impact of ebooks on book buying for discussion.

But, looking at the data from a different perspective, we get a snapshot of readers' personalities. Book readers, often viewed as loners curled up by a window absorbed in a book, do seem to see reading a book as a totally individual sport—or 67% do. But a significant population of a third--33%--likes to talk over what they read with groups or with friends and family.