SURVEY N If The Price Is Under $10, Survey Respondents Consume Ebooks By The Truckload; At Over $10, And In Other Formats—Hardcover, Paperback, Audio—Consumption Dwindles Rapidly

SURVEY N If The Price Is Under $10, Survey Respondents Consume Ebooks By The Truckload; At Over $10, And In Other Formats—Hardcover, Paperback, Audio—Consumption Dwindles Rapidly

By Tom Dulaney, Contributing Reporter

The Winter 2011 Kindle Nation Citizen Survey attracted 2,275 respondents during January, making it one of the largest surveys done on ebook reading in general and Kindle Store and Kindle device use specifically.

Editor's note: For simplicity, the survey stipulated that the word “buy” can also mean “get” or “acquire,” as it get or acquire a free ebook. It can also mean “borrow” or “acquire” as it borrow or acquire from a library.

Here's a statistical snapshot of the respondents' book buying habits:

Some 99% buy ebooks that are free or priced up to 99 cents. But look at the volume! About 25% buy over 60 ebooks annually. Another 21% get 30 to 60 ebooks annually. Some 28% get 15 to 30 a year. Also: 31% get 5 to 15 annually; 8% get fewer than 5%, and only a paltry 1% don't acquire these ebooks at all.

When the price goes up, of course, the percentage should go down—but it does not. Another 99% buy ebooks priced from 99 cents to $9.99. The only thing that changes is the number of ebooks they download. Of this group, some 11% get over 60 annually. Some 20% get 30 to 60. About 28% get 15 to 30 per year. Some 31% pay for 5 to 15 a year. About 8% get less than 5, and only 1% do not acquire books in that price range.

To sum up those sets of data: survey respondents go through ebooks like a fleet of New York City snow plows go through the streets on a February day in 2011. The volume of books snatched up, either free, or for under $10, is remarkable. The folks who answered the Kindle Nation survey are some very serious readers.

They are also very e-oriented and universally Amazon Kindle Store focused. The remaining data collected in this question is beyond the orbit of the Kindle Store and moves to sources of ebooks and then into the outer reaches of print.

So let's look at the broader picture in lower resolution than we did above. Otherwise, the volume of data obscures the message.

From the top in the macro view, 99% of respondents buy or acquire ebooks that are in the broad price range from Free to $9.99.

By the percentages, it may surprise many that the next in the queue are the 72% of respondents who (still) buy hardcover and paperback print books from Amazon or other online stores. Some 8% buy more than 15 annually; 22% get 5 to 15; 41% buy fewer than 5; and, 28% do not buy them at all.

Here's a surprise: Next at 72% of all respondents are those who buy new hardcover or paperback print books from physical stores. Some 8 percent buy 15 or more annually. About 22% buy 5 to 15; 41% buy fewer than 5; and, 28% do not buy them.

Next, at 71% of all respondents, come those who buy ebooks priced over $9.99. The number they buy is a scant 1% for the high volume 30+ to an admitted 60+ ebooks and more per year. The $10 and over price has had a chilling effect on volume buying. At over $10 per ebook, only 5% buy 15 to 30 annually; 21% buy 5 to 15; 44% buy 5 or fewer. A pretty significant 29% do not buy ebooks priced over $9.99

Next, at 61%, are those who buy used print books. They do so, but at nowhere near the volumes of ebook consumption. Some 11% or respondents acquire more than 15 used print books annually. About 20% get 5 to 15 a year, 31% get fewer than 5, and 39% do not get any.

A significant 54% of respondents get ebooks from places outside of the Amazon Kindle Store. The volume acquired there, though, is much lower than the mountain of ebooks under $10 scooped up in the Kindle Store. Some 16% get more than 15 ebooks from sources other than Amazon annually. About 15% get 5 to 15; 24% get fewer than 5; and, 46% of respondents get no ebooks from these sites.

Some 48% of respondents borrow books from their local libraries, a trickle compared to ebook consumption. 19% borrow 15 or more books annually; 12% get 5 to 15; 17% fewer than 5.

Some 30% get ebooks via iBooks for the iPad, Nook or other ebook retailers. But only 13% get more than 5 of those annually. Some 16% get less than 5.

Of the group, about 26% download audiobooks either from Audible.com or the iTunes Store. Some 11% get 5 or more of those. About 15% get fewer than 5, and 74% don't get any at all.