Paper books are having second, third and fourth lives thanks to digital commerce. According to data collected by Milanuncios, in 2021 the number of searches related to books on its website increased by 30% compared to 2020, and the total volume of business from the sale of second-hand copies on the internet reached a value of 9, 8 million euros. The number of book offers published on this portal also increased by 8%, with more than 354,000 advertisements.
Information similar to that presented by Wallapop, another important platform for the sale of used products, a few months ago. Although in this case the data was not so specific: the app pointed out that its Cinema, Books and Music category had been the one that grew the most in 2020, and assured that 49% of Spaniards had made a purchase in it between the months of September 2020 and 2021.
most wanted. The searches that accumulate the highest volume are those for textbooks for education, among which those on English or mathematics stand out, followed by manuals to learn to play the guitar or to prepare oppositions.
Searches for books with terms that included the words ‘comic’ or ‘manga’ also stand out and, in fact, in 2021 they grew by 126% and 322%, respectively. Likewise, novels accumulated a significant number of searches, they are the second ones that register the most advertisements, behind textbooks, and in 2021 they moved around 456,000 euros in internet sales.
The most popular. The data collected by Milanuncios on the use of its platform also reveals which are the most popular writers and works among users. Among authors, searches for Megan Maxwell books are up 57% in 2021, while searches for Stephen King novels are up 38%.
As for novels, searches for ‘La Celestina’ grew by 57% in 2021, those for the literary series ‘Shadowhunters’ by 31% and those for the Harry Potter saga by 23%.
More and more readers. The growth of the sale of used books on the internet seems to have a simple explanation: there are more readers. According to data from the report ‘Reading and Buying Books in Spain 2021’, in the last ten years the number of people who read at least one book a quarter in their free time has increased by 6.5%, from 57 .9% from 2011 to 64.4% in 2021. Of these, 52.7% are frequent readers, that is, they read daily or at least once a week.
Another interesting piece of information included in this report, and which could explain the increase in the sale of physical books online, is that for the first time since this study was prepared, the percentage of readers who read in digital format has decreased. Only 29.4% of readers do so on an e-reader, a computer, a tablet or a mobile phone. In 2020, the maximum peak of this indicator, the percentage was 30.3%.
Traditional bookstores continue to rule. Despite the increase in buying and selling books online, the largest number of transactions continues to be made in traditional physical bookstores, according to data from this latest report. Thus, 43.6% of Spaniards buy them in these establishments, compared to 25.3% who buy them online, 11.8% who buy them in bookstore chains and 6.7% who get them online. department store.
Image | Freestocks
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism