The popularity of e-readers really took off when Amazon released its original Kindle in 2007. The Kindle wasn’t the first e-reader on the market, not by much, but it was really the catalyst for the rapid growth of e-readers.
Even the original Kindle wasn’t an immediate success. Sure, it was a big hit with early adopters, but its weird physical appearance and funky QWERTY keyboard made it a bit weird at the time.
It wasn’t until the release of Kindle 2.0 in early 2009 that e-readers really caught on in large numbers by the public. It was, as you’d expect from an upgrade, a much better device and the public loved it. It soon became a popular gift option and reached the number one spot on Amazon’s best-seller list, a position the Kindle, in one form or another, has held since 2009.
It is a great product for Amazon. Many people find it natural to buy their e-reader hardware and e-books from a company that has a proven track record in the world of books. It’s no coincidence that Amazon’s main competition in the e-reader and e-book market has come from Barnes and Noble since they launched their Nook reader in 2010.
In 2011, e-reader sales reached just under 25 million units worldwide. By 2012, this had fallen to just under 15 million. Just over 10 million units are expected to ship in 2013.
That drop in sales could be due to the fact that the apparent growth rate simply couldn’t be sustained in the long run. E-reader owners are not like smartphone users: they don’t feel the need to “upgrade” every time a newer model is released, so the more people buy e-readers, the smaller the market for future sales. .
Another factor that could be influencing the slowdown in e-reader sales could be the emergence of smaller, more affordable tablets. Both Amazon and Barnes and Noble have now expanded their range to include small 7-inch tablets, at prices that are considerably lower than Apple’s market-leading iPad.
While there’s no doubt that the iPad is the singing and dancing king of the hill in the tablet market, many people seem quite happy to give up (quite) a few features if the price is right. For emailing, playing games, and watching the occasional video, entry-level tablets like the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet seem to be more than enough for a large segment of the market.
Tablets and e-readers are, at least for now, very different devices. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses and will appeal to different sectors of the market. Some people will be quite happy to have one of each.
E-readers, despite their sudden rise to fame, haven’t killed off printed books. It seems unlikely that tablets will eliminate e-readers, at least not for a while. However, it appears that the period of rapid growth and booming sales figures may be coming to an end for the e-reader market.