Gen Y Buys More Titles; Ebook Prices Drop

Move over Baby Boomers. A new report finds Generation Y - people born between 1979 and 1989 - is spending more money on books than you are.

The report, the 2012 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics & Buying Behaviors Annual Review, says  Gen Y bought 30 percent of all titles in 2011, up from 24 percent in 2010. Baby Boomers, who have historically spent the most on books, have a 25 percent share.

 Forty-three percent of Gen Y’s purchases are made online, which is helping push the industry's shift to digital. 

The report, prepared by Bowker Market Research, also finds ebook prices fell between 2010 and 2011.

It puts the average price of a fiction ebook at $5.24 in 2011, down from $5.69 in 2010. In nonfiction,  the average price fell from $9.04 to $6.47. In the juvenile segment, it dropped to $4.47 in 2011 from $4.88.

The reports finds ebooks have the most impact in the Mystery genre, accounting for 17 percent of spending, followed by Romance and Science Fiction, which accounted for 15 percent of dollars spent.

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