Feature Audiobook buyers: the numbers The UK audiobook market
Understanding the UK Audiobook Consumer 2016 report, based on detailed research with around 2,000 audiobook buyers and listeners, confirms the enduring appeal of physical formats, with two-thirds of audiobook consumers continuing to listen or buy them at least some of the time in physical formats. They may choose to do so because they like to collect and own them, because they can borrow them for free, or because they find them easier to use, for instance.
With an increasing number of purchase and listening options available to fans of audiobooks, the sector looks to be on the up— an assumption that is borne out in the latest numbers from consumer surveys. Nielsen’s Steven Bohme reports
How big is the audiobook down- load market currently? According to Nielsen’s UK Books & Consumers survey, UK consumers purchased an estimated 6.6 million audiobook downloads in 2015, and spent £47m on them. This repre- sents 2.3% of all UK book purchases (print, “e’ and audio combined), by both volume and value.
How were the figures calculated? The UK Books & Consumers survey collects data on book purchases made by consumers using monthly online interviews with a nationally representative sample of around 3,000 book buyers, aged 13 to 84. Respondents detail all purchases of new books (print, “e” and audio, from all channels) in the month before the survey. Survey data is extrapolated to represent the total market, using Nielsen’s sales tracking data (Book- Scan and PubTrack Digital)
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What annualised growth rates have you seen recently? UK Books & Consumers puts consumer purchases of audiobook downloads at around 50% up year on year in 2015, and have continued to increase in the first half of 2016, by around 30%.
How are consumers buying audiobooks? Just over 40% of audiobook down- loads were bought as part of a subscription in the first half of 2016.
How do the figures compare to retail sales of physical audio- book products? The data reports that downloads represented 62% of audiobook purchases by volume in the first half of 2016, and 51% in value terms. These shares have risen from 47% and 41% respectively since the first half of 2014. Nielsen’s soon-to-be-published
Crime/thriller was the most commonly purchased audio download genre in 2015, accounting for one in six book purchases, compared to one in seven book buys across all formats
What price points work for audiobooks? According to UK Books & Consum- ers, audiobook downloads were most commonly bought for £7–£7.99 in the first half of 2016: a fiſth of the total number of purchases came at this price point.
For further information about Nielsen’s ongoing UK Books & Consumers survey, or to buy a copy of the Understanding the UK Audiobook Consumer 2016 report, contact
hazel.kenyon@
nielsen.com
What genres sell best in audio? Crime/thriller was the most commonly purchased audio down- load genre in 2015, accounting for one in six purchases, compared to one in seven book buys across all formats. Biography was the leading non-fiction genre, with a 6% share of audiobook downloads. Children’s fiction and YA fiction together accounted for one in nine audio downloads, compared to one in 10 book purchases across formats. Sci-fi/fantasy/horror, personal development, business/manage- ment, MBS and humour were other genres that had a higher share of the audiobook download market than they did the book market as a whole, across print, “e” and audio. ×
FutureBook | 2nd December 2016
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