Understanding the Consumer of Books in the Digital Era

Books have the power to transform people's lives. It is not an understatement to claim that the world we know today would not have developed as it has if books had not existed. Books have long been a staple of education and entertainment, and they remain an important tool for the investigation and dissemination of ideas. Over the years, the book industry has become larger and larger and, like many other industries undergoing transformation, new technologies are facilitating a shift in who determines the industry's value. The Internet paved the way for new technologies to emerge, allowing for changes in sales/distribution, publication, and where material might be accessed. With the rise in popularity of the e-book in the twenty-first century, for businesses and marketers, the process of understanding, analyzing and tracking consumer behavior is crucial for leading to a better understanding of the consumer and consequently, to a successful approach. Therefore, the study of consumer behavior represents the incipient stage of the journey to meeting consumer’s expectations and needs. This paper presents the results of a quantitative research with the main purpose of describing a clear perspective on book consumer behavior, what factors influence their book purchasing decisions, reading habits and preferences and some of the individuals’ favorite things about reading and books. One of the most conclusive questions for this research focused on the book format the participants use, obtaining a very big and unexpected proportion of respondents claiming that they still read printed book, which proves that books still hold their magic, despites different digital means of reading such as e-books.