Sales trends at amazon.co.uk vs amazon.com

Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader has been very successful and once a consumer purchases one, it is very likely that they will then purchase the e-books rather than the printed version. So what proportion of Amazon’s sales are digital? The answer depends on whether it is the US or UK website.

Amazon.com have just announced that they sell more Kindle e-books than paperbacks and hardcover books combined - quite extraordinary given that the Kindle has been around for less than four years (and Amazon for thirteen).

Sales at Amazon.co.uk show that UK customers are more attached to the printed version, with sales still higher than the digital version. But perhaps it will not be long before the same trend is seen as ebook sales already outstrip hardcover sales two to one. E-books have only been available for nine months from the UK website. Of course, the figures are slightly skewed by the fact that consumers wanting printed books are free to shop anywhere whereas Amazon customers are much more likely to own a Kindle. But the trend is clear and it can only be expected that e-books will continue to become more popular. The original article can be found here.

One possible reason for the increase in popularity of internet purchases (not only books) is the combination of high petrol prices and the trend towards internet sites offering free shipping. This short article from the Wall Street Journal explains why a slump in Wal-Mart sales has been attributed to high gas prices. The graphic below illustrates the trend and gives an important statistic for online retailers!

The stars also align for an increase in international sales - Amazon.co.uk were recently offering free shipping anywhere in the world for orders over £30. To buy a couple of textbooks from New Zealand with free shipping, the low value of the pound, and avoiding any sales tax means that the price was simply unbeatable!