Book Store to Promote Titles to 47% of Consumers Who Want Printed Materials

BY Rachel Cagle
Featured image for “Book Store to Promote Titles to 47% of Consumers Who Want Printed Materials”

"According to a recent online survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Canon, adults are most likely to say that if printed materials no longer existed it would make them feel sad (47%). Only 5%, in comparison, say that they would feel happy and very few (1%) would feel relieved. One in five would feel unsure (22%) if print medium no longer existed, while at least one in ten would feel indifferent (14%). Fewer say that the extinction of the print medium would make them feel anxious (6%) or overwhelmed (4%)."

"Women (50% vs. 43% of men), adults over the age of 55 (55% vs. 39% of those age 18–34), and those with a household income of at least $100,000 (53% vs. 44% of those earning less) are among the most likely to say they would be sad if printed materials no longer existed."

"Two thirds believe that print will eventually be phased-​out and digital will rule (64%), with those under the age of 55 (68% vs. 57% of those age 55+) and those with children living at home (69% vs. 62% of those with no kids) particularly likely to feel this way. Thinking about the future, more than eight in ten predict that search engines (89%) and TV (84%) will be important to them personally in the year 2030, while roughly three quarters say the same thing of radio (76%), books (76%), and news websites (75%). More than half also believe that social media sites (68%), e‑books (53%), print newspapers (52%), and print magazines (50%) will play important roles in their lives in the year 2030, though not quite as many say that audiobooks (44%), magazine websites (44%) and podcasts (42%) will be important to them ten years from now."

Even Book Readers use digital media quite often. According to AudienceSCAN, within the last 30 days, Book Readers have used the internet to check the news (78.7%) and play online games (49.8%). Additionally, within the last six months, these readers have used mobile devices to watch online or streamed videos (57.9%), redeem or download coupons (36.3%) and search for nearby retailers (30.8%).

"Despite a majority thinking that print will eventually be phased-​out and digital will rule, there are some instances where print if preferred. For instance, just over three quarters say that they prefer reading physical books more than e‑books (76%) and similar proportions prefer to send their loved ones printed cards (73%). Another seven in ten say that they like being able to highlight and mark up physical content (70%), and 76% of students agree that they prefer doing their school reading and assignments on paper as opposed to online."

"Reading physical books is seen as being beneficial for a variety of reasons, including at least eight in ten who say this can help people learn about history (85%) and different cultures (81%), help to focus attention (82%), and help to reduce stress levels (80%). A similar proportion say that reading physical books can help people become more open-​minded (79%) and help them think outside the box (79%), while roughly three quarters also think books can make you feel better when you’re down (77%), enhance creativity (74%), and help to develop problem-​solving skills (74%). A majority also say that books can help to focus on the present (72%) and teach people to connect with others (62%) and feel empathy (71%).

"For three quarters, the quality and graphics of print is very important to catching their attention (76%), though only 39% agree that they prefer content with less text and more graphics (vs. 56% who disagree with this statement). In fact, text (50%) is the feature most likely to make printed materials stand out to adults, followed closely by content (49%) and quality (48%). At least two in five say that graphics (45%) and colors (42%) make printed materials stand out for them, while roughly three in ten say the same thing of personalized material (30%) and textures (27%). Not quite one in ten (8%) say that none of these features make printed materials stand out to them.

"Looking more specifically at digital content, just over half admit that overall in their life, they rely more on digital content than physical content (56%), yet seven in ten agree that the constant barrage of digital information is too much (69%). More than eight in ten say that they scroll past digital advertisements when online (82%) and another six in ten (62%) say that they often find themselves multi-​tasking and not fully paying attention to what they are reading when using screens."

"When it comes to selecting a platform to accomplish different activities, print is most likely to be preferred when reading a book (60% vs. 27% who prefer using a tablet/​smartphone/​laptop/​desktop) and sending/​receiving a greeting card (56% vs. 33% who prefer tablet/​smartphone/​laptop/​desktop)."

"Americans are most likely to trust the information they receive via radio (79%), books (78%), search engines sites (78%), reports/​ documents (75%), newspapers (74%), and TV (72%). In contrast, they are least likely to trust information that comes from podcasts (44%), social media sites (43%), and online ads (41%). Magazines (68%), online news website (64%), brochures/​flyers (61%), print ads (58%), e‑books (53%), online magazines (52%), and audiobooks (51%) fall in the middle, with at least half saying that they completely/​ somewhat trust the information they receive from these mediums."

Book Readers are very likely to take action because of traditional print ads. According to AudienceSCAN, last year, this audience took action because of direct mail (59.2%), newspaper (45.4%), magazine (42.4%) and outdoor (27.6%) ads. That doesn't mean they're not receptive to digital advertising though. In that same amount of time, 48.6% were driven to action by email ads, 34.4% took action after either receiving an ad via text or seeing an ad on their mobile smartphone apps and 32.1% clicked on text link ads on websites. They're also 34% more likely than other adults to find ads on social media useful.

"When describing their print/​digital habits, only in ten (13%) say that they solely use print mediums while one in five (20%) say that they only use digital mediums. The majority instead use a mix of both, with 36% saying they use print to complement digital mediums and 32% who say that they use digital to complement print."

"In the past 12 months, Americans are much more likely to have given someone a printed card (63%) versus sent someone an e‑card (24%). In fact, 82% say that they are very/​somewhat likely to choose to buy a printed greeting card over a digital card."

"Giving a printed card for Valentine’s Day is also much more common than giving someone an e‑card on this occasion (36% vs. 8%), as is receiving a printed invitation and RSVP for a wedding (34% vs. 15% who received a digital invitation and RSVP for a wedding)."

"More than half have also used a printed calendar in their home over the past year (56%), while at least one five have used a physical planner (29%) and/​or saved an event invite e.g. pinned to board (20%). One in ten have recently mailed postcards while traveling (10%) or collected postcard from cities they've been to (10%)."

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.


Share: