Ebooks outsell print books in UK, Amazon says

PanARMENIAN.Net - It’s been two years since Kindle launched in the UK, and in celebration Amazon released some interesting statistics, according to Mashable.

Amazon UK now sells more ebooks than paperback and hardback print editions combined.

The retailer says for every 100 print books sold, 114 ebooks are purchased. These figures are specific to Amazon.co.uk and don’t factor for print or ebook sales bought anywhere else online or in physical stores. Even so, this upsurge marks a definite — though not surprising — shift in the publishing world.

Kindle launched in the UK the summer of 2010, and within months became the best-selling product on Amazon. The family of Kindle ereaders allow users to download and read ebooks, magazines, newspapers and the like, wirelessly.

The growing success of ereaders can be partially attributed to top-selling novels like Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James. Amazon has sold upwards of 2 million ebooks of the title in less than four months. Many attribute this figure to the racy content of the novel coupled with the discreet nature of the Kindle — with no book cover to out them, fans are free to enjoy their erotica without judgement.

Amazon has also experienced a boost from indie authors eager to self-publish their work. The company says it has experienced a 400% increase in authors using Kindle Direct Publishing in the past 12 months.

Those lamenting the death of literature may find solace in the fact that the average Kindle user purchases four times as many books than they did prior to owning the tablet. So while print may slowly be becoming a thing of the past, the future of reading seems bright.