Physical Books Remain Preferred Choice Among Readers, Survey Finds

Source: ADEPA

A survey of 2,400 book readers of all ages in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany found that most people prefer physical books for their look, feel, and even smell.

The survey, commissioned by paper manufacturer Stora Enso, revealed that 65% of respondents prefer physical books, compared to 21% who prefer e-books and 14% audio books. The French showed the highest level of preference for physical books. The majority said that they prefer to read or listen to fiction books to have fun and spend quality time alone.

“These results confirmed our expectations that the physical book market will remain strong, which is good news for our customers in the printing and publishing industries,” said Jonathan Bakewell, vice president and head Office Paper and Books from Stora Enso. However, there were surprising results in the youngest group (aged 16 to 24) surveyed, where 70% said they preferred physical books to e-books. For older age groups, physical books have outperformed e-books in areas such as human potential and awareness, especially during the pandemic when people took more time to reflect.

A digital detox

People began to rediscover reading, partly inspired by the pandemic, when many spent the day in front of screens working or studying, but did not want to take them to bed to rest . The majority of respondents (63%) said they read more during Covid, including nearly 70% in the UK and US. In the youngest category, 64% said they read more, with 76% of young people in the United States and 73% in the United Kingdom. During isolation, the materiality of the paper book was more comforting for some than a digital device. Some respondents even mentioned the smell of a physical book, which was able to evoke pleasant memories.

Between eyes and ears

But while physical books capture a larger share of hearts and minds, the survey showed there is a time and place for each of the three book formats, with very few respondents saying they limit themselves. to exactly one. E-books and audiobooks are more convenient and portable, and can be consumed on multiple devices. The audiobook complements the physical book and the e-book, as it competes for “ears” with podcasts, radio, music and other audio media.

Download books like carbon reserve

Physical books and the paper they are printed on are circular and renewable. 42% of readers said they like to keep books when they finish reading them, and 26% lend them or give them away. Another 26% sell their books and the remaining 5% recycle or throw them away. And while books emit carbon during production and distribution, they store carbon while on the shelves. It is important to remember that e-books require energy to manufacture and use, and they take the place of content storage in the “cloud”, which has a large environmental footprint. In addition, waste from electronic devices is already a serious problem on the planet, with millions of tons of unused equipment and batteries being disposed of each year.

Carbon neutrality was top of the agenda for most, with 61% of all respondents and 70% of young people saying they would pay more (on average 5.7% of the retail price) for carbon neutral books. Most would also buy from a center that offered carbon neutral books.

The numbers in Brazil

The “Trend Tracker Survey 2023”, conducted by Two Sides among 10,847 people in 16 countries, including 1,000 respondents in Brazil, shows that the preference for printed books hit has progressed strongly from 2021, compared to the electronic format. In 2023, 64% of consumers surveyed in Brazil said they would prefer to read printed books, compared to 37% in 2021. Only 29% of respondents said they would ‘ they prefer to read books on electronic devices, and 7% are unique about the format.

“The number of people who prefer paper books has increased by more than 70% since the pandemic, confirming the printed format as the best in the opinion of consumers,” says Fábio Mortara, head sitting Two Sides Brazil and Latin America. “In the case of books, readers have not joined the trend of using electronic devices to access other forms of communication, such as newspapers and magazines,” he explains.