Whether or not you're a fan of them, ebooks are grabbing the spotlights in the publishing world. In the UK, ebook sales have risen by over 300% while a recent study has also shown that ebooks have overtaken sales of hardbacks in the US. Not bad for something I thought wouldn't catch on.
However it is putting a strain on bookshops especially the independent ones which is hardly surprising. About 190 independent booksellers have closed down since 2009, out of those, 65 ceased trading last year.
So is it the beginning of the end of the print book? I imagine that was the kind of question posed when music downloads were introduced. Would music downloads spell the end of the CD? Downloads have certainly increased and they are now overtaking the sales of the CD but all this hasn't happened over night and there are still a lot of people who don't want to switch to downloads.
Not everyone who has joined the ebook evolution has been entirely satisfied with it with some saying they 'miss' the feel of a paperback. So could this be just another technology phase? What I find interesting is that while the economic crisis continues, so does the popularity of the ebook. So could there be an economical motivation behind the surge in sales? The average price of a paperback is £6.99 yet you can get an ebook for about £0.72. Some are even free.
Whatever it is, it's going to be a very interesting future...
