The publishing industry is undergoing significant changes. While traditional book publishing saw a small decrease in 2009, on-demand printing and ebooks increased substantially. Independent bookstores continue to decline in number while online book sales, especially to Generation X consumers, are growing. Technology adoption, especially among younger generations, is widespread and social media has over 400 million active users on Facebook alone. These trends suggest publishing and book discovery are becoming increasingly digital.

1. 123825-9525Publishing Rolls Forwardsomersau.lt<br />The State of the Publishing World Now<br />* Books published in 2009 using traditional production methods: 288,355, a ½% decrease from 2008. <br />* Books published in 2009 using on-demand printing/Internet: 764,448, a 181% increase over 2008.<br />http://www.bowker.com/index.php/press-releases/616-bowker-reports-traditional-us-book-production-flat-in-2009<br />* Ebooks overtook audiobooks in 2009 with sales reaching $313 million in 2009, up 177%.<br />http://www.publishers.org/main/IndustryStats/indStats_02.htm<br />* There are 19 Espresso On-Demand Book Machines in the USA (1 in Grand Rapids, MI); 17 elsewhere. http://www.ondemandbooks.com/our_ebm_locations.htm<br />* CBA members in 2010: 1,700 Christian stores. http://www.cbaonline.org/nm/media.htm<br />* CBA members in 1999: 2,500 Christian stores. http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-retail-stores-not/4610343-1.html<br />* Independent bricks-&-mortar general bookstores in 2000: 3,250<br />* Independent bricks & mortar general bookstores in 2010: 1,400 (The New Yorker)<br />* Generation X consumers buy more books online than any other demographic group, with 30% of them buying their books through the Internet<br />* 21% of book buyers said they became aware of a book through some sort of online promotion or ad<br />http://www.bowker.com/index.php/press-releases-2009/567-bowker-publishes-first-consumer-focused-research-report-for-book-industry<br />* Christian book buyers are 70% Protestant, 16% Catholic, 6% Mormon, 8% Other <br />* Christian books are purchased 47% in retail, 41% direct-to-consumer, and 12% through other outlets <br />* Active Christians still make the majority of their book purchases at Christian stores <br />* Active Christians have a significantly higher per dollar and more frequent purchase occasion at Christian retail outlets than any other channel.<br />http://www.cbaonline.org/nm/media.htm<br />* People within the Christian community are just as immersed in (and dependent upon) digital technologies and social networks as are those outside of it. Both evangelical Christians and other born again Christians are statistically on par with national norms.<br />131 Division Avenue S • Suite 300 • Grand Rapids, MI 49503 • 616.458.8750 • hello@somersaultgroup.comhttp://www.barna.org/media-articles/36-barna-technology-study-social-networking-online-entertainment-and-church-podcasts<br />* Each successive generation is adopting and using technology at a significantly greater pace than their predecessors.<br />http://www.barna.org/media-articles/212-new-research-explores-how-technology-drives-generation-gap<br />* 3 million iPads sold in 80 days. http://www.ipadinsider.com/tag/ipad-sales-figures/<br />* Apple projects it will sell 16 million iPads in the first 12 months.<br />* Internet users worldwide: 1.8 billion. http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm<br />* Internet users in the USA: 228 million. http://www.internetworldstats.com/am/us.htm<br />* Number of blogs worldwide: 133 million. http://thefuturebuzz.com/2009/01/12/social-media-web-20-internet-numbers-stats/<br />* Generation X consumers buy more books online than any other demographic group, with 30% of them buying their books through the Internet<br />* 21% of book buyers said they became aware of a book through some sort of online promotion or ad<br />http://www.bowker.com/index.php/press-releases-2009/567-bowker-publishes-first-consumer-focused-research-report-for-book-industry<br />* ¾ of American Millennials (teens and 20-somethings) have created a profile on a social networking site.<br />* 1 in 5 have posted a video of themselves online.<br />* They are the least overtly religious American generation in modern times.<br />http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1501/millennials-new-survey-generational-personality-upbeat-open-new-ideas-technology-bound<br />* 27% of American Millennials say they read the Bible on a weekly basis.<br />http://pewforum.org/Age/Religion-Among-the-Millennials.aspx<br />* Worldwide mobile phone sales to end users totalled 315 million units in the first quarter of 2010, a 17% increase from the same period in 2009. Smarpthone sales to end users reached 54 million units, an increase of 49% from the first quarter of 2009.<br />http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1372013<br />* 55% of American adults connect to the Internet wirelessly, either through a WiFi or WiMax connection via their laptops or through their handheld device like a smart phone.<br />http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Internet-broadband-and-cell-phone-statistics.aspx<br />* News today is increasingly a shared, social experience. Half of Americans say they rely on the people around them to find out at least some of the news they need to know.<br />http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1602/new-media-review-differences-from-traditional-press<br />* Facebook has more than 400 million active members. http://www.facebook.com/#!/press/info.php?statistics<br />* If Facebook were a country, it would be the 3rd most populated in the world, after China and India; ahead of USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Russia, and Japan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population<br />* More people populate Facebook than are citizens of Canada, UK, Germany, Italy and France COMBINED. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population<br />* Twitter has more than 106 million registered users. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/14/twitter-user-statistics-r_n_537992.html<br />* YouTube has more than 135 million monthly viewers. http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/4/comScore_Releases_March_2010_U.S._Online_Video_Rankings/(language)/eng-US<br />* 24 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute. http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/03/oops-pow-surprise24-hours-of-video-all.html<br />* 69% of adult Internet users have used the Internet to watch or download video.<br />http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1611/video-online-comedy-political-television-movies-you-tube<br />* In 2005, nearly half of all Americans read at least one religious book, other than the Bible, from cover to cover in the past two years.<br />http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/176-religious-books-attract-a-diverse-audience-dominated-by-women-and-boomers?q=book+reading<br />