Kiwis prefer physical books

A report from the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) reveals Kiwis prefer print books, with sales of physical books growing while demand for e-books has shrunk.

E-books make up just 7.2 per cent of total trade and education sales in New Zealand.

The New Zealand Publishing Market Size Report 2019, completed by Nielsen Book Research for PANZ, shows that in the trade market (books for the general consumer) print book sales increased by 7.1 per cent in 2019, while digital books declined by 4.5 per cent.

“The report confirms New Zealanders continue to prefer the experience that a physical book has to offer,” PANZ president Julia Marshall says.

The report provides a snapshot of an industry that was in good heart at the end of 2019, experiencing a 6 per cent increase in revenue on the previous year. Last year 21.1 million books were sold in the country.

But the closure of physical and online bookshops in level 4 lockdown from late March this year caused a 20 per cent decline in domestic book sales to the end of May. However, Nielsen reports that in the second week of level 2, domestic revenue through bookstores was up 22 per cent compared with the same week in 2019, although sales overall are still down year-on-year.

The book trade generated $292.2 million in revenue last year with content exported around the world.

Last year New Zealand publishers issued 2662 new books, accounting for 23 per cent of all domestic sales. That figure was up 11 per cent on 2018.

The report also shows a renewed interest in books written in te Reo Ma¯ ori (either directly or in translation), with these titles seeing 61 per cent growth in unit sales over 2018.

“In the post Covid-19 world, we hope to consolidate the gains made as many consumers rediscovered the pleasure of reading, at a time when they needed it most,” Ms Marshall says.