The range of print and digital formats currently produced by U.S. publishers is impressive. These include:
Physical - hardcover, paperback, mass market, physical audiobooks
Non-physical — e-books, enhanced e-books, downloaded audiobooks, paid mobile apps and internet products
Bundled products — Individual products and services combining content in print, electronic and custom-created formats. This is particularly prevalent in Higher Education.
Full definitions of all formats
While BookStats’ survey period of 2008-2010 does not include 2011’s significant surge in e-book sales, it does shed unprecedented light on the transformational changes underway in publishing formats and how publishers are serving audiences’ disparate interests.
All statistics below are for the Trade category except where noted.
Trade Hardcover
Total net sales revenue for Hardcover in 2010 is $5.26 Billion. This represents a 0.9% increase over the three years.
Hardcovers’ share of the total Trade market shifted from 39.6% in 2008 to 37.7% in 2010.
Total net unit sales for 2010 are 603 Million. This represents a 5.8% increase from 2008.
Trade Softcover
Total net sales revenue for Softcover in 2010 is $5.27 Billion, representing a 1.2% increase over 2008.
Net units sold increased 2.0% over the three years reported, with 1.1 Billion units in 2010.
Softcovers’ share of the total Trade market was 39.5% in 2008 and is 37.8% in 2010.
Trade Mass Market Paperback
Total net sales revenue for 2010 is $1.28 Billion, showing -13.8% change since 2008.
Its 9.2% share of the total Trade market in 2010 represents a -2.1% decline since 2008.
Net unit sales for 2010 are 319 Million, a decline of 16.8% from 2008
e-books and other non-physical formats
The consistent, growing popularity of e-books and apps are a major success story in content formats, even in advance of data for 2011, which is currently tracking high e-format sales. Highlights:
e-books have grown from 0.6% of the total Trade market share in 2008 to 6.4% in 2010. While that represents a small amount in the total market for formats, it translates to 1274.1% in publisher net sales revenue year-over-year with total net revenue for 2010 at $878 Million.
Net unit sales growth for e-books was equally impressive, increasing 1039.6% for the same three-year period. In 2010, e-book net units were 114M.
Beyond the top-level format figures, the explosive growth of e-books is even more visible when considering certain categories. In Adult Fiction, e-books are now 13.6% of the net revenue market share.