Ereading dominated by women, over 45s, says report

New research from Kobo has found that women and readers aged over 45 are the most active consumers of ebooks, reports the Guardian. The report, based on data from Kobo customers and a survey of 16,000 readers of ebooks, found that women made up 75% of the most active ereaders, defined as readers who spend at least 30 minutes a day reading ebooks. Seventy-seven percent of active ereaders were aged 45 and over, with the largest portion (30%) aged between 55 and 64. ‘As one gets older there are a number of benefits in e-reading,’ said Kobo chief executive Michael Tamblyn. ‘It’s nice to be able to make the font larger, or not to go to the bookshop to find the next book.’ The report also found that active ereaders tend to consume both print and digital formats, with the average active ereader purchasing 16 print books a year and 60 ebooks. The most popular category for ebooks—by a considerable margin—was romance, followed by general fiction and mystery novels. ‘Romance tends to be a little bit shorter, and more affordable,’ said Tamblyn. ‘It’s a place where digital has become overrepresented—it’s quite difficult for a bricks and mortar store to stock the range and selection these passionate readers want, as they can’t devote the space to it. So these customers have come much more quickly to digital.’

Category: International news