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Note: This is an extract from an article from Redshift Research. Read the full article
E readers are considered to be one of a few “hot gadgets” of the future. Sony introduced an e reader last year and a new touch screen version recently. The Amazon Kindle has shown early signs of success in the US, and a version is now available in the UK. Several other manufacturers, including the value notebook manufacturer, Asus, are looking at introducing new colour and touch screen models in 2010.
The question remains, is the e reader concept something worth getting excited about? Certainly, leading book retailers have made in roads in pushing the new format over the last year. In the US Amazon are pushing hard both book sales and newspaper and magazine subscriptions on the Kindle platform. Waterstones, in the UK, were early leaders in offering an expanding range of e books, and sell Sony e reader devices.
Current sales of e readers in the UK are low. Our survey of 1,000 UK consumers showed that 2% already have an e reader, and another 2% indicated they will buy one in the next 12 months. Although a further 12% said they would consider buying an e reader, around one third (34%) are resolutely unlikely to buy, and another 50% not very likely.
So what are the chances of persuading more people to buy e readers? In our poll, just 6% are enthusiastic about them – “they are great”. Another 14% either don’t know what they are, or are confused about the formats of e books. These people are likely to include technical laggards who would be difficult to reach in the medium term. But the real challenge is persuading the 44% of people to move away from traditional paper books. Women are far more strongly wedded to the reliable hard copy and paperback (48% are not interested in e books, compared to 38% of men).
That said, there are indications that it is possible to push the e book beyond the niche gadget buyer. 16% of consumers felt that the e reader concept is attractive to people who read a lot of books, and 20% feel it is particularly useful for those who travel a lot or commute regularly. But it wont be easy. One group of people we know it will be difficult to persuade are younger readers (18-25). The proportion of young people who don’t read books in our poll was double of the national average (14% compared with 7%) and this age group was the least likely to buy a e reader in the next 12 months (45% compared with 34% overall).
HOW LOVEABLE IS AN E READER?