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Public hungry for more books

20.07.07 Joel Rickett

More than half of people who read regularly believe that more books will be read in 2025 than today, whether in print or digital formats. And 66% of readers say use of the internet is helping them deepen their passion for books.

These are two of the findings of a HarperCollins survey of 1,000 readers, presented at last week's Bookseller seminar on consumer trends. Catherine Hunt and Jenny Lindsay of HC's consumer insight unit said that readers are "incredibly active online", but 27% of them enjoyed printed books as a break from technology. Other reasons for reading more include greater availability of books and cheaper prices.

Barry Clark of the Future Foundation was also upbeat about the public's enduring hunger for books. He said that the overall expansion of education and burgeoning personal wealth have created a desire for "pro-am" leisure activities, whereby people turn to books to become "experts" on subjects. He cited above-average sales of books on the arts, ideas and culture over the
past five years. "Books have greater cultural capital than ever," he said.

But the mood was deflated by Paul Clarke, national retail director of Barclays, who gave a sobering assessment of the UK economy's prospects. Discretionary income has fallen from 29% of average gross income in 2003 to 22% in 2007. He predicted that interest rates would eventually stabilise at more than 6%, while "retail growth will remain well below the rates enjoyed earlier in this decade".

In this climate, publishers must set concrete aims for marketing campaigns, according to Kirsty Hutton, director of Total Media Group. She recommended industry collaboration on research into the role of traditional versus online advertising, shared consumer databases, and joint ad campaigns. But the Guardian's marketing director Marc Sands warned that if used at the wrong stage, research could stifle creative flair and monotonise marketing.

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