The global EBooks market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 6.8% reaching up to a whopping figure of $28.73 billion.
An EBook is an electronics and digitalised book where content is written in form of text, images, and tabular.
They are electronically published on online platforms, and are accessed and read through smartphones and tablets, etc.
EBooks are published in diverse and several types of file formats like, .txt, .pdf, .epub, .html, .odf, etc.
Several book writers and publishers have adopted the 5technique of eBook formatting *-through HTML and CSS tools usage.?
The file size of eBooks is compressed by the publishers so the readers can easily download and read them.
Additionally, the constant digitalisation in everything. Like mass paperback book authors opting for writing eBooks, has played a major role in saving trees. This is done by reducing the overall use of paper and its production.
Factors such as,
- Increasing production of portable devices
- The emergence of interactive learning systems as well as digital education
- Rising concerns related to the environment and cutting of trees
These factors are playing a major role in promoting the market growth of eBooks. However, the only thing hindering that growth is the lack of awareness of the subject.
Let’s have a look at the market overview.
Market Overview
- The sophistication of reading devices and technical development offering a similar experience to reading an actual physical eBook is the most important key factors here that are driving the global eBook market towards growth.
An emerging increase in the adoption of smartphones and features like multilingual eBooks gives it an upper edge. And is the reason for expected growth in the respective department.
- The ease of accessibility of a diverse range of eBook libraries online through applications and websites is increasing the overall eBook consumption across the internet. It is enabling a way for many low-cost alternatives compared to the typical delivery method.
Services like e-lending available for eBooks have massively supported the adoption of the new way to book reading globally.
- The environmental protection campaigns have boosted the growth of the eBook sector. As it saves the trees and reduces the cutting of trees by reducing the percentage of paper production required yearly.
- Subject to IP infringement cases by the content authors and providers, the publishers are experiencing great pressure. And the market growth is being restrained because of it.
For example, in June 2020 owing to copyright violations were filed against internet archives by four major book publishers relating to the open library project.
- An increase was also noticed in the overall book reading engagement across the world during the pandemic. Locked in homes, for readers, switching to eBooks for entertainment purposes was the best option. Thus the increase in the market growth of eBooks was observed due to physical bookstores being shut down. The growth was exclusively noticed during the first few months of the global pandemic.
E-book sales soared up as impatient and locked-in homes readers turned their heads to the most convenient and fastest delivery.
UK market Dominates The eBook industry
- EBooks in the UK entered as a natural, automatic, and permanent choice over the physically printed books for the readers. When the consumers want fast, convenient, and portable access, eBooks are the perfect answer.
All in all, in the answer by the publishers to the growing and fast acceptance of innovative reading devices, the content is now constantly being redefined and full of new exploring concepts in books.
- There has also been an increase in the purchase and ownership of the new portable smartphone and tablet devices which are suitable for reading purposes.
Devices such as original kindles were the most popular ones amidst the gift-gifting season during the pandemic.
Cost-cutting has been enhanced by improving content mobility by providing better distribution of books and accessibility of them in a diverse target end-user.
Competitive Landscape
The EBook market is pieced out over all places by many independent authors, book editors, and publishers. However, there are few players who singlehandedly dominate the market. These include Amazon’s KDP and Apple eBooks Author etc. and many others.
These players also at times adopt strategies like making a joint venture or partnerships with the publishers who are established at a small scale and at a regional level. This allows them to have a higher market share.
Overall Reflections On the Growing Market
Winning a place in several market segments, eBooks are most successful with the fictional genre.
The scientific and educational publication is yet to find its popularity across the internet but few genres offered great potential for the growth of eBooks in the market and those niches resisted better than the printed paper world.
Large scale and medium-sized publishers are moving ahead by exploring new reading formats suitable on screens and thus a market boom has been observed in the self-published books that need an online platform for formatting, editing as well as publishing, and distributing.
There is a new scenario and a dark cloud hovering over traditional publishers because of the potential dangers they are in. from the development of new formats to the reformulation of the distribution process, large-scale investments et corporations can now manage them more easily with digitalisation.
Summing Up
Similar to how years ago, blogging and creating websites was done by only specialists having sufficient knowledge and those who were university graduates and mastered the field, today anybody can learn to do the task in a few months with minimal know-how. Consequently, it will soon become possible for anyone and everyone interested in publishing and distributing their own books without the intervention of traditional publishers.
Even educational institutes have now the greatest opportunity of saving time and cost by creating all educational material and online texts under Creative Common Licenses without having the need for publishers.
