More People Give Up Reading Books

According to a new study from Pew Research:

Seven-in-ten American adults (72%) have read a book within the past year, whether in whole or in part and in any format, according to a survey conducted in March and April. That figure has fallen from 79% who said in 2011 they had read a book in the previous year, but is statistically in line with polls since 2011.

Many book publishers, researchers and retailers have wondered whether the introduction of e-books would impact book reading overall or lead to a decline in the number of books read in print. This year’s data show a slight decline in the number of American adults who read print books: 63% of American adults say they read at least one book in print in the past year, compared with 69% who said the same the year before and 71% in 2011.

While 72% may seem a good number, the trend is more important. The proxy for physical book reading is Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS), which continues to suffer declining sales. The proxy for e-book readers and e-books is Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). While the trend described by Pew hurts Barnes & Noble immediately, Amazon’s business is vulnerable.

The data show a silver lining:

The data reveal a somewhat surprising generational pattern in book reading. Young adults – those ages 18 to 29 – are more likely than their elders to have read a book in the past 12 months. Fully 80% of young adults read a book, compared with 71% of those ages 30 to 49, 68% of those 50 to 64 and 69% of those 65 and older.

If the trend holds, the long-term future of the industry may be better than the broader Pew data show.

While the Pew information does not reveal much about causes, one could conjecture that the trend is like that of the consumer of traditional media like newspapers and TV. Social media have become a replacement for information of any and every kind, and the trend will not reverse itself.

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