Books Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Science, Historical, Mystery, Fantasy, Literary, Contemporary/Realistic, Romance, Educational, Comic, Others), By Distribution Channel (Online, Local Book Shops, Retail Shops, Specialty Stores), By Format (Hard Copy, Ebooks, Audiobooks) and By Region(North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, LATAM) Forecasts, 2023-2031

Market Overview

The global books market revenue was valued at USD 137.12 billion in 2022. It is estimated to reach USD 165.22 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 2.2% over the forecast period (2023–2031). The market growth is driven by increasing consumer spending and a growing emphasis on self-development.

Books are indispensable in our lives and have served as a reservoir of knowledge and amusement for centuries. With the advancement of technology and the rise of digital media, the book industry has undergone significant changes. Consumer books in the digital era are commonly labeled as "analog." Despite the passage of centuries since the invention of the printing press, books remain readily accessible and reasonably priced, serving as a reliable source of knowledge and entertainment for people around the globe. Hardcover books, paperbacks, audiobooks, and electronic books are just a few of the many formats available on the market. The book market exists primarily to facilitate the dissemination of information and literature to benefit consumers, who may seek such materials for amusement or instruction.

Market Dynamics

Global Books Market Drivers:

Increasing Consumer Spending

Rising consumer spending and the rising focus on self-development drive market growth. Nowadays, consumers are more likely to spend on hobbies they like to pursue and their areas of interest. Moreover, higher importance is being given to leisure activities, resulting in an increased number of readers. This has led to greater momentum in the global book market. As consumers' disposable income increases, they are more inclined to allocate their funds toward various products and services that align with their hobbies and interests.

Rising Influence of Technological Innovations

Large-scale changes have occurred throughout the history of books. With the innovation of digital media and new technologies, the book market has evolved into numerous formats, including ebooks and audiobooks, from papyrus scrolls to ebooks. Therefore, the range of opportunities for publishers and consumers has increased due to reading moving to screens. Publishers should invest in producing and promoting content in text, audio, and video modes while considering the digital communication medium. Since 2013, HarperCollins has established alliances with organizations like the digital library Scribd. Publishers like J.K. Rowling's Pottermore can give their readers a visual online experience.

The wave of digitization in the industry has also given rise to the concepts of 'book tubers' and 'bookstagrammers.' These specialist book bloggers are storming social media platforms with their liking for printed books, thereby igniting a passion for reading, which, in turn, drives market growth. This effortless combination of book publishing with social media by these influencers helps promote the beauty of print via photographs of books in lifestyle shots or through reviews on vlogs. Moreover, digital printing has paved the way for print service providers (PSPs) to add value to existing services, offer new ones, and attract new customers. This scenario will likely emphasize the adoption of books and drive reading culture.

Global Books Market Restraint:

Constant Problems Persisting with Piracy

Another concern for the market, with the advent of digital media, is online piracy, which has changed how content is shared and consumed by the reader. It has increased publishers' losses and created fear among writers that readers will not purchase their books if they are available online. Many readers cannot easily acquire certain books where they live and refrain from buying them due to high shipping costs. Therefore, despite being against the law, issues with pricing and accessibility have increased ebook piracy.

Furthermore, technological advancements like high-speed Internet, smartboards, tablets, and e-readers have reshaped reading and learning habits to a large extent. Search engines have made finding specialized information on a topic incredibly straightforward. Readers are no longer required to possess a physical book to access the content. There are several ways to consume content, including games, blogs, streaming services, blogs, and articles. Such developments and changes in reading habits pose a significant challenge for book market players.

Global Books Market Opportunities:

Growing Trend of Reverse Supply Chain

The growing trend of the reverse supply chain, also known as e-commerce, offers new opportunities for selling used books. Re-commerce exemplifies the growing trend toward transforming consumption through reuse. Therefore, re-commerce retailers such as Momox, reBuy, and Quoka.de are the biggest drivers of the industry. For instance, Momox, which resells books, console games, CDs, and DVDs, recorded a double-digit growth yearly for seven consecutive years, earning EUR 150 million (USD 177.98 million) in 2016 alone.

Regional Analysis

North America Dominates the Global Market

Region-wise, the global books market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Central and South America, and the Middle East and Africa.

North America is the most significant global books market shareholder and is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 2.4% during the forecast period. Mystery is the most popular genre in the U.S., followed by romance and fantasy. In Canada, mystery novels feature higher on the list of top choices. According to BookNet Canada, there were almost 16,000 actively-selling ISBNs in the mystery/detective genre in 2016. Sales data from national sales tracking service BNC SalesData for the most popular titles indicated that book buyers enjoy a mix of newcomers like Gillian Flynn and more classic authors like Agatha Christie. All such factors drive market growth.

Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.7% during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific book market is presently expanding. Regionally, local publishers predominate, and demand for foreign books is predicted to rise. However, there is a greater market for books written in regional languages than novels written in English because so many different languages are spoken in this area. The rise in high-speed Internet penetration in these countries is contributing to an increase in demand for ebooks.

Similarly, the demand for textbooks and reference books will increase over the forecast period. The region's higher popularity of fiction books is ensuring strong sales for fantasy and romance books in Asia Pacific countries. For instance, South Asian novels, for the most part, are pigeonholed as serious fiction featuring heavy social or political commentary. Moreover, Japan's three leading book genres are Culture, Science, Education, and Sports, Politics and Law, and Literature. Such instances drive regional market growth.

Europe is the third largest region. The region's largest market for book publishers includes Germany, the U.K., France, Spain, and Italy. In 2019, publishers released approximately 605,000 new titles, which is a slight increase from the previous year, according to the Federation of European Publishers. The United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, and Spain reported the highest availability among the European countries, with over 12.5 million titles in stock in 2019. Digital publishing in all its forms, digitization of back catalogs, print-on-demand services, and self-publishing titles drive up annual publishing count.

Moreover, fiction books are increasingly popular in Europe, with detective or crime fiction among the most popular literary genres. According to Penguin Books Ltd., popular fiction in 2019 included All the Rage by Cara Hunter and Secret Service by Tom Bradby. The growing penetration of online publishing channels and sales supports the increasing adoption of digital publishing methods. The easy availability of books through online mediums contributes significantly to regional growth.

Segmental Analysis

The global books market is segmented based on type, distribution channel, and format.

Based on type, the global books market is divided into science, historical, mystery, fantasy, literary, romance, contemporary/realistic, comics, educational, and others (including classics and biographies). 

The mystery segment dominates the global market and is expected to expand substantially during the forecast period. According to Nielsen, not only is mystery/crime one of the most popular literature subgenres in the US, but many people believe it to be more popular in the UK than romance. According to an Irishexaminer article in 2018, more than twice as many women read crime novels as men in the UK. The phenomenal success of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train and their subsequent movie adaptations have enticed millions to this genre. General adult fiction, romance, and suspense/thrillers were the three most popular adult genres in 2017, according to Nielsen BookScan, which aggregates statistics on actual sales.

Crime and mystery books also rank second, bringing in about USD 728.2 million yearly, according to Bookstr. In 2017, Nielsen's team put together a study universe of 6,000 US book buyers representing 180,000 book purchases per year. The respondents were drawn from a nationally representative pool using criteria of age, gender, and location. Based on this study, more than two-thirds of the Mystery/Crime readership were women. It turns out that the largest sector of the Mystery/Crime readership — 28 percent, as developed by Nielsen's team — was over 65. The next largest group was the 55- to 64-year-old set: 19 percent. Less than 20 percent of Mystery/Crime are being read by people under 30.

Based on distribution channels, the global books market is categorized into online, local bookshops, retail shops, and specialty stores. 

The local bookshop segment owns the highest market share and is estimated to exhibit a CAGR of 2.01% during the forecast period. Online retailers can offer customers significantly lower prices and an exponentially larger book inventory. Another significant advantage of shopping online is ease, as customers may purchase a book without leaving their homes by simply clicking a button. However, one thing that e-commerce websites lack is booksellers because booksellers are people – they are consummate bibliophiles, and that human component is an important part of the literary experience. A neighborhood bookshop is a home for both authors and readers and is a warm place to meet and relax. It serves as a meeting place and forum for like-minded people to share their views.

Furthermore, numerous such stores host in-house book clubs and themed reading groups and host frequent author events, seminars, and other activities encouraging people to think creatively. Independent bookshops are frequently prominent in their neighborhoods, serving as everything from a secure location for children to go after school to a pleasurable way for a group of friends to spend a Saturday. As per an article published by indigo9digital, in June 2019, the number of independent bookstores in the U.S. decreased by 40% between the mid-1990s and 2009, but independent bookstores have experienced a resurgence in recent years. The number of independent bookstores in the U.S. increased by 31% since 2009.

Based on the format, the global books market is categorized into hard copy, ebook, and audio. 

The hard copy segment dominates the global market and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 2.12% during the forecast period. Books have shown to be incredibly robust in the face of an avalanche of new technology. Reading from a printed book has many significant benefits over reading from a screen. It is more legible and has a permanence that the relatively transient and easily editable digital language lacks.

In contrast to the rapid obsolescence of many other technologies and their replacement by more modern innovations, books have endured as a medium for millennia despite fierce competition. As per the Association of American Publishers' 2019 annual report, publishers of books in all forms made close to USD 26 billion in revenue in the U.S. last year, with print publishing bringing in about USD 22.6 billion and ebook sales bringing in USD 2.04 billion. Along with fiction, these numbers also included commerce and instructional publications.

Recent Developments

• September 2023- At Christie's auction house in London, two books by the renowned authors Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle that were once owned by English musician Charlie Watts broke individual records for the beloved authors, months after an 800-year-old copy of the Bible became the most expensive book ever sold.