Booknet: Canadian Audiobook Purchases Went Up In 2019

Canadians were buying more audiobooks last year than in 2018, according to a survey conducted by Booknet Canada.

Audiobooks made up 5% of Canadian book purchases in 2019, according to the non-profit organization. That's a slight increase from 2018, when they represented just 3.6% of the Canadian market. In other formats, purchases of hardcover books dropped slightly, going from 25.9% in 2018 to an even 24% last year, while sales of paperbacks and ebooks remained steady, staying at 49% and 17%, respectively.

Booknet Canada notes, however, that the figure for audiobooks may not be entirely accurate, as 26% of audiobook purchases were acquired through a subscription service, and thus may have not been considered a true 'purchase' by respondents.

Other findings from the survey show that book purchases through online channels dipped in 2019, dropping to 51% from 52.5%. Book store purchases, however, were on the rise, increasing to 49% from 47% in 2018. Regarding genre, fiction appears to still be the reigning champion, taking up 52% of book purchases last year. Nonfiction and Juvenile/YA sat at 35% and 13%.

The results were tallied from BookNet Canada's online surveys of adult, English-speaking book buyers across Canada over 2019.

To read more research on Canadian book sales, visit http://www.booknetcanada.ca/research