Are physical books making a comeback?
E-book sales may be falling in other markets, but does this mean sales of physical books will increase?
After losing ground to Kindles and tablets, physical books are making a comeback, and SA’s printing industry wants to make sure the country doesn’t lose out. In developed markets, the initial swing towards e-books has begun to reverse, according to several reports. In the UK, for instance, "screen fatigue" helped printed book sales reach a five-year high in 2016, according to a report by The Guardian. Sales of consumer e-books fell as much as 17% to £204m in 2016, the lowest level since 2011, which is when the Amazon Kindle first "took the UK by storm", the publication reported last year. However, it is worth noting these numbers aren’t always reliable. Jeremy Boraine, publishing director at Jonathan Ball Publishers, points out that while numerous reports from the US and UK suggest that e-book sales have flattened out over the past 24 months, it’s difficult to confirm this trend "as most e-book sales are through Amazon, which doesn’t flash them about". For now, indications are that ...
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