Research & Analysis

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Looking Back at Book Pricing Trends

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In October 2005, BookNet Canada began tracking sales data on print books in the Canadian market, including average list and selling prices. Consumer prices on other goods had long been tracked, but this was the beginning of comprehensive, national, data gathering on books.

At the time, a bag of roasted coffee beans cost $11.25/kg, a domestic stamp was $.50 and a ticket to the movies cost just over $6.00. Today, coffee is close to $20/kg, mailing a letter will set you back $.62, and a 3D movie ticket can cost as much as $18.00. It seems that everything we consume is getting more expensive.

But a new BookNet Canada research study, available to SalesData subscribers only, has revealed that books are bucking the trend…

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The State of Childhood E-Reading So Far

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Children are now, for the most part, being raised as digital natives in North America. Their little fingers become adept at swiping screens at an early age, but parents and educators are still debating whether children should be reading much online. Where do things stand now? We’re working on some consumer research of our own to find out, but in the meantime I thought we could look at what’s happening in the US and UK.

Nerd Spotting

When I first began work on The Canadian Book Consumer reports I was overwhelmed by the data. The first week is a blur of Excel spreadsheets and percentages, mixed in with feelings of trepidation and uncertainty. But as I continued I discovered that there were distinct patterns in the data, particularly when I was tasked with creating consumer profiles based on genre preferences.

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Canadian Book Consumer 2012

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Canadian Book Consumer 2012 - An infographic by the team at BookNet Canada

Embed this infographic using the code below:

<img src="/storage/research-education/BookNet%20CBC%202012%20Infographic.jpeg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1384784845674" width="540"> <p>Canadian Book Consumer 2012 - An infographic by the team at <a href="/consumer-studies/">BookNet Canada</a></p>

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How Do Canadians Spend Their Free Time?

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BookNet Canada has fielded a consumer panel in February for the last two years. The results from the panel are used to help inform the data we collect for our study, The Canadian Book Consumer. In the general consumer questionnaire, we ask approximately 750 English-speaking Canadians from across the country how they spend their leisure time, how much time they spend per day on those leisure activities, and, this year, what mobile devices they own (at least the ones that could potentially be used for e-reading).

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E-Reading Search Trends in Canada

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In many English-speaking countries, the most well-known e-reading devices are from giant brands such as Amazon, Google, or Apple. But the Canadian market paints a slightly different picture. According to the results of our consumer research in the first half of 2012, we found that, when asked which devices consumers planned to use to read their e-books, Kobo was the market share leader at 27%, followed by Kindle at 19% and the iPad at 14%. But let’s see if these preferences spill over into the online arena and how Canadians are using Google to search for their next e-book or e-reading device.

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Learning to Be Truly B2C

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We all know that publishing must become increasingly consumer-centric, but few of us really know how to make that happen. B2C marketing has become a priority for publishers but there is a lot more to becoming a consumer-centric business. While publishers have traditionally considered themselves taste-makers, if not gate-keepers, that dynamic needs to change as consumers are becoming an increasingly active participant in the retail environment. Consumers have a more powerful voice and the expectation to be heard. This is influencing many industries, and a market-driven approach is proving to be critical to the success of companies across industries. This is why, this year, I’ve focused the Technology Forum programming on B2C thinking. This is a vague term that covers a lot of ground as you can see from the programming confirmed so far.

 

 

BookNet Canada is a non-profit organization that develops technology, standards, and education to serve the Canadian book industry. Founded in 2002 to address systemic challenges in the industry, BookNet Canada supports publishing companies, booksellers, wholesalers, distributors, sales agents, industry associations, literary agents, media, and libraries across the country.

 

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