A study called the Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading commissioned by the Book Industry Study Group found that e-books now make up nearly 11 percent of the total book market. The percentage of paper book buyers that downloaded e-books has also more than doubled between October 2010 and January 2011 from 5 percent to almost 13 percent. Power buyers, defined as those who buy an e-book at least once a week, purchase 61 percent of all e-books but account for just 18 percent of the e-book buying population. They also typically own a dedicated e-reader device rather than a computer.
The study also found other interesting tidbits, including that women now make up 66 percent of e-book power buyers. Back in 2009, women made up just 49 percent of the e-book market.
The majority of e-books, at 58 percent, are fiction, with literary fiction, science fiction and romance each making up over 20 percent of all e-book purchases. Users are most influenced to buy e-books by free samples and low prices.
