Okay Geek Farm
How Amazon's Kindle sales overtook paperback sales
Daniel Carey
As far as e-book retailers are concerned, none are mightier than Amazon. Since launching Kindle services Amazon has thrived on one mentality… allow the consumer to access their content wherever they may please. Unlike other e-tailers, Amazon has released apps on all major smartphone platforms, as well as on Windows, Mac, and the iPad; thus in turn raising a consumer base from the several million actually in possession of an Amazon branded Kindle e-reader, to tens of millions of consumers in possession of the free to download Amazon Kindle application.
Amazon’s success in the e-book game has always been apparent, when you sell a book dead cheap, you just know it’ll get bought.
In a record braking fourth quarter (up 36% to $12.95 Billion), the company is now selling more Kindle books than they are paperbacks. As a book-lover and Kindle user myself, I can attest to Amazon’s success. There may be something about a book that digital media doesn’t quite replicate, however, the convenience of having a book pushed to a device upon order is so, well, convenient. Not to mention I don’t have to carry heavy paperbacks everywhere, nor do I read as sparingly as I previously did. Not to make this article about my own reading habits, but previously I’d read 1-2 hefty novels a week, now that number has more than doubled.
With a paperback to Kindle books sale ratio of 1:3 (100 paperbacks sold per 115 e-books), consumers are certainly beginning to favour electronic means of consumption — not that there’s anything wrong with physical books. After all, filling a bookcase with books is one of the most joyous, soul enriching hobbies a person can have. So, are you a paperback fan, or a Kindle / e-book fan? Let us know in the comments below.
