BPN: 1711: 2Q 2015 e-book sales Flanders

Excerpt of original press release in Dutch 

Sales of e-books in the second quarter of 2015 rose slightly, from 2.8% (in the previous quarter) to 3% of total book sales in the second quarter of 2015. When comparing the second quarter of 2015 with the same period last year, we recorded an increase of nearly 20% in the number of selling e-books. Yet, Flanders remains far below the level of the Netherlands where the e-book sales now amounts to 5.5% of total book sales.

There are more and more titles available as e-books. Compared to last year the number of titles available in digital form has increased by 17%, from 33 344 to 38 855 titles. That is 44% of the title list.

E-books are becoming cheaper!
In the e-book barometer (thanks to CB), we first present how the average e-book price (recommended consumer price) compares to the average price of a paper book. In 2015 the average price of an e-book was only 59.5% of that of the paper book. In 2010 this was still more than 83%. The average price of an e-book also is now 8.89 euros. This trend will please a lot of readers: the e-book is getting cheaper!

Online sales up 18%
This spring, the online book sales increasing rapidly. Online bookstores experienced an increase of 18% compared to the same period last year. It is a trend which has already manifested itself and unabatedly continues in recent years. This trend increases the share of online stores within the total book sales to nearly 15%. Second biggest climber is the independent bookstore with a sales increase of 8.6% in the first half of 2015.

News release: Boek.be and CB

Infographic: E-book barometer Flanders