handcuff.jpegThe Bookseller reports this result from Bowker’s PubTrack survey. According to them, in November computers accounted for 47% and the Kindle 32%. In April, however, the Kindle had moved up to 40% and computers down to 39%.

The article goes on to say that by April 32% of consumers were willing to wait 3 months to buy an ebook and that this is up from 30% in November. Further, “affordability” as a top feature of ebooks declined from 2.7 to 2.65, out of a scale of 3, in that period.

Bowker said, at a presentation at BEA: “The new users—the iPad readers—are more casual, but there’s less price sensitivity. We don’t need to feel we’re handcuffed by early adopters. Amazon may be driving the move to e-books, but their modus operandi is not necessarily how things have to be.”

1 COMMENT

  1. Let me see if I follow Bowker’s reasoning. In November, 79% of people reading ebooks did it on their computer or the kindle. In April, the same 79% did it on their computer or kindle. The other devices out there account for the other 21%, but they haven’t made any inroads.

    Then we have a 2% move in willingness to wait, and less than 2% move in the importance of price, both within the statistical margin of error.

    And his conclusion from this is that new Ipad users don’t care as much about price? Whatever hallucinogenic substance he’s indulging in, we all need to stay away from it.

    Not only is there nothing tying Ipad users to price sensitivity, but there is no statistically significant change in the importance of price, nor have non kindle/computer devices taken market share.

    Folks, he MAY be right. But it would be based on chance, not on that pesky thing called actual evidence.

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