Why Physical Books Won’t Disappear Any Time Soon
With the influx of e-readers and tablets, end-user reading patterns have undergone a radical shift over the last decade. There will always be some people who prefer a physical, paper book, but e-readers and reading apps are definitely giving books a run for their money. This relatively recent shift has been so strong that traditional book sellers and publishing houses have been pushed into vulnerable positions.
While the e-reading market has offered many advantages and encouraged an anytime, anywhere approach to reading, it has been caught in quite a few controversies from the very beginning, especially in areas such as pricing and digital rights management.
But the latest data point in the world of e-reading versus traditional books is very interesting: Physical, bound paper books have shown more growth. The number of paper books sold grew 2.4 percent in 2014, while e-books seemed to have hit a saturation point.
Among the varied user bases, students have shown a lot of positive inclination for printed textbooks, with a 57 percent preference over digital books. While the e-textbooks have their own benefits, what is it about printed books that has given them a facelift amidst the compelling presence of e-books? The reasons are simple: better reading comprehension and knowledge retention, more intuitiveness, and a stronger human connection are pushing paper books ahead and bringing back users who may have moved away.
While all of this regain in market share may sound like technology is playing a counterintuitive role in the growth of e-books, it is really a market of coexistence. One preference may dominate the market for a while before the other preference swings back into favor, and though this pattern may undergo changes, neither option will gobble up the other completely.
Not everyone predicted this relatively peaceful coexistence. After the initial success of its Nook e-reader, book retailer Barnes & Nobles made the mistake of believing that the traditional book market would cease to exist.
Users will continue to be split (for a while, anyway) between preferring to read on a screen or from a paper book—or taking advantage of both options, depending on their moods. Each offering has its strengths, but it is encouraging to see the resurrection of physical books from what seemed like a certain death to e-readers. In this market, technology and tradition can coexist after all.
