Upswing for physical books online
The book sector is one of the sectors that received a boost in 2020 online during the coronavirus pandemic.
Online growth has been weak for many years, but this year it amounted to 26 percent. At the same time, it is in many ways a sector in continuous change. After its rapid shift to e-commerce sales, the book sector has continued its digitalization process, moving from physical products (hard-copy book) to the now rapidly growing audiobook sector, where the product itself is also digitalized and flows smoothly through cables and telecom networks.
This has also affected the business models, which have become subscription services. However, not all books are suitable for the audio book format; those that are suitable are primarily books with a simple chronology and just a few characters, where it is easy to follow the plot line even if you are doing something else while listening.
One of the most important events during the year was, of course, Amazon’s launch in Sweden. Amazon started as a bookstore and has negotiated with Swedish publishers during the year. Once the company has distribution rights, it will be a tough competitor in the Swedish market. Especially if the company’s rights to Swedish titles also encompass the Amazon-owned audiobook service Audible. Through its various companies, Amazon has the opportunity to coordinate campaigns between traditional Amazon and Audible.
Source: The E-barometern annual report 2020
