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Saturday, April 04, 2020

51% of UK adults read a book in the last year

By KIRSTY COOKE

06.03.2019

We mark World Book Day [2019] by looking at purchase behaviour and reported reading habits in the UK…

51% of UK adults say they have read a book in the last year, according to TGI consumer data from Kantar Media. 34% of those adults who read books are categorised as ‘heavy readers’ – that is, those who have read 10 or more books in the past year. Claire McClelland, Category Analyst for Entertainment at Kantar Worldpanel, says the market is looking healthy. “The average shopper spent £60.98 on hardback and paperback books in the past year*, which is up by £3.34 since last year. 40.6% of the UK adult population have purchased a book in the past 12 months. The average shopper has purchased 9 physical books each in the past year, compared to 8 the year before.”

James Powell, Senior Marketing Manager at Kantar Media, highlights that there are differences in book preferences based on gender and age. “Men are 40% more likely than the average book reader to read science fiction and almost twice as likely to read about sports, whilst women are 58% more likely to read romance novels and 25% more likely to read contemporary literature. Those aged 15 to 24 are almost twice as likely to read fantasy and adventure books and 59% more likely to read science fiction. But those aged 65 or over are 35% more likely to read about home, gardening and DIY, and 37% more likely to read historical fiction. The 34% of book-reading adults who are ‘heavy readers’ are 26% more likely than the average reader to be aged 65 or over, according to TGI data.

Meanwhile, looking at purchase behaviour, Kantar Worldpanel finds that 50% of heavy book shoppers (that is, those in the top 20%) are from a 55+ shopper base, who have grown share since last year by +0.8ppts. McClelland notes: “Heavy book shoppers spend on average a whopping £202.15 a year on physical books, which is £36 more than the heavy book shoppers spent last year, and just over 3 times more than the average physical book shopper (£60.98). So, it can be argued that these heavy shoppers are becoming more engaged in the books category. 15 to 24 year olds are 32% less likely than the average reader to be heavy readers, according to TGI data, with only 23% of them reading 10 or more books per year.

Powell notes: “Senior Sole Decision Makers (aged 55 or over, not married or living as a couple, and living alone) are 23% more likely to be heavy readers, but Flown the Nest-ers (aged 15-34, not married or living as a couple and do not live with relations) are 28% less likely. 68% of ‘heavy readers’ say they buy their books online, whilst 56% do so in a shop and 5% via mail order, according to TGI data.

40.6% of the UK adult population have purchased a book in the past year, with 38% of UK adults purchasing a physical book, and just 8.5% purchasing an e-book, according to Kantar Worldpanel purchase data. Reading habits follow a similar trend, finds Kantar Media. “Reading via eBooks is prominent amongst the heavy readers, but still lags behind paperbacks and hardbacks,” says Powell. “Three quarters of heavy readers read paperbacks, 53% read hardbacks and 44% read eBooks.” Purchase data from Kantar Worldpanel shows that the penetration of e-books has actually diminished over the last few years (Feb 2015: 11.5%, Feb 2016: 10.4%, Feb 2017: 9.4%, Feb 2018: 9.1%, Feb 2019: 8.5%). McClelland comments: “Although the books market has been in a gradual decline over the years, with shopper losses being the key reason for decline, the category still sees some growth through a more engaged shopper base purchasing more frequently, and through a rise in average prices.”

[A year old but still interesting in many ways. I’m both impressed and rather saddened that only 51% of people read a book in the year surveyed. 49% of people read…. NOTHING (or at least nothing in book format). I simply can’t comprehend that fact. It amused me greatly that reading 10 or more books in a year counts as being a ‘heavy reader’. So what am I and people like me with 60-70 on a good year? Never mind some of my Blog Buddies who read 100-150 books in a year! Funny also that the average yearly purchase of books closely equates to the average of a single visit to my favourite book shop. Interesting that the ‘heavy’ readers tend to be older readers. I suppose that makes sense having much more ‘free’ time to read. Sad to see that only 23% of the young read more than 10 books a year. I guess that, as with many things, I’m just your above average outlier where books are concerned. Buying in quantity is a little more difficult at the moment as I don’t think bookshops are considered essential businesses – but the steady trickle from Amazon resellers will just have to do for now. Just wait until it’s over though. All of that pent up book tension is going to be something to see when I can actually splurge!]

6 comments:

mudpuddle said...

i wonder what the world record for number of books read in a year is? a couple of years ago i read 212, i recall... mostly around 150-70, tho... and not all "valuable" either; i like mysteries from the thirties and some sci fi and travel and pop sci and...

CyberKitten said...

I always try to quality over quantity. I can't remember what I read if I read too much too quickly. I think 100 a year will be my upper limit. Any more than that and I think my head would explode!

As to 'valuable' - as long as you're enjoying what you're reading I don't think it matters. When I see people reading 'fluff' I still applaud the fact that they're reading *something*! [lol]

Sarah @ All The Book Blog Names Are Taken said...

I read I think 275 in 2019?

It's cute that so many read 'a book' though, isn't it? lol

CyberKitten said...

Imagine if you were told you could read only *one* book this year. How on earth would you/could you choose which one?

[shudders]

275 is *SO* impressive.....

Judy Krueger said...

Clearly we are the obese readers!

CyberKitten said...

@ Judy: Just ONE more book. I'll start my diet tomorrow... Honest!