The most telling details for me is the clear shifting of the market towards hardback and ebook and away from paperbacks, is this a secular trend that we can expect to persist?
In some other trade segments, adult hardcover sales jumped 43.2%, to $138.5 million, at the 17 publishers that report results. Sales at nine mass market paperback publishers fell 14.6% in May, to $53.6 million. For the five months, mass market paperback sales were down 7.3%, to $264.8 million; that decline coupled with the rapid growth of e-books puts the e-book market at 55% of the size of the mass market paperback market.
HT @ajaxlogos
that’s in line with the increase in our ebook sales for May. However, June saw a huge increase in sales, due to a write up in Kindle Nation. Kindle sales account for over 90% of our ebook sales.
That’s I think the general experience with some changes at the edges and some intimations that Apple is having impact with iBooks! it will be interesting to see what the % market share look like in 3 months. I’d expect kindle to be a lot less by then!
Eoin
These figures may look impressive when compared with last year but actually ebooksales for this year are largely flat, ie little % share increase from January to May. See this take: http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2010/07/15/some-thoughts-on-yesterdays-ebook-sales-figures/
Little evidence so far of Apple having a measurable influence on sales. June had better be different otherwise Nate’s conclusions in the above link will look prescient.