Last week’s news that Microsoft is considering a $1 billion buyout of the Nook eBook company it formed with Barnes & Noble is less surprising in light of data revealed today by research firm Statista. According to data from the Association of American Publishers, eBooks accounted for nearly 23 percent of U.S. publisher revenue in 2012.
On the year, eBooks accounted for 22.6 percent of sales as a percentage of U.S. trade publishers’ net revenue, up from 17.0 percent in 2011, 8.3 percent in 2010, and 3.2 percent in 2009.
Although beaten to the market by Sony, Amazon’s launch of the first Kindle in 2007 is seen by many as the beginning of the eBook and eReader market. As seen by Statista’s chart, however, it wasn’t until 2010, the year of the iPad, that eBook sales began to show dramatic growth.
The introduction of the iPad and subsequent competing tablets gave the eBook market a significantly larger audience. Many consumers who did not find value in a dedicated eReader, like a Nook or Kindle, were suddenly introduced to the digital book concept by apps on their multi-function tablets. Apple’s iBooks, which launched on the first generation iPad, was heavily marketed as providing access to tens of thousands of commercial titles along with easy access to many more free public domain works. Consumers who had never laid eyes on a Kindle were given an easy and familiar way to find, download, and read eBooks.
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and others quickly followed Apple; first by releasing their own apps for the iPad, and then eventually by launching their own tablet hardware.
Although many heavy readers prefer the non-reflective eInk display found on traditional eReaders, the use of tablets for reading has had a measurable impact on the market, as the recent revenue numbers show.
Featured Image via Good eReader.
