Fewer than One in 10 Americans Use an eReader, Harris Poll Says
NEW YORK CITY—September 22, 2010—Has the introduction of eReaders changed reading habits? Right now, fewer than one in 10 Americans (8%) uses an electronic reader device of some kind, so any real changes may take a while to detect. But some small ones are noticeable now.
Some of the findings from an online survey of 2,775 adults Harris Interactive include:
• Those who have eReaders do, in fact, read more. Overall, 40% of Americans read 11 or more books a year, with 19% reading 21 or more books in a year. But among those who have an eReader, 36% read 11-20 books a year and 26% read 21 or more books in an average year.
• EReader users are also more likely to buy books: 21% of Americans say they have not purchased any books in the past year, compared to only 8% of eReader users who say the same. As for book purchasers, 17% of eReader users purchased between 11 and 20 and 20% bought 21 or more books in the past year, while 11% of Americans purchased between 11 and 20 books and 12% bought 21 or more books.
Likelihood to get an eReader
Among those adults who do not currently have an eReader, 12% say they are likely to get one in the next six months. However, 21% are not very likely to purchase an eReader and 59% are not at all likely. Those in the West (16%) and East (14%) are more likely to purchase an eReader in the next six months, whereas 69% of Midwesterners say they are not at all likely to do so.
Change in reading habits
One of the criticisms of eReaders is that people who have them may download more books than they would traditionally purchase, but read at the same levels. So far this criticism is not holding true at all. Over half of people with eReaders (53%) say they read more now than they did six months ago compared to 18% of non-eReader users, while 51% of non-users say they read the same as they did six months ago vs. 25% of eReader users.
Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between August 9-16, 2010 among 2,775 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
Click the "One in Ten Americans Use an eReader (PDF)" link in the Related Content inset to download a PDF with full data tables associated with these results.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay ahead of what's next.
Source: press release.
