Retail research company Kelkoo UK has predicted that the e-book market will experience accelerated growth over the next three years, when e-books could account for 10 percent of all books sold.
E-readers are also predicted to experience significant growth with a total of 1.3 million units expected to be sold over the next three years. E-books currently represent 0.8 percent of the total book market, equivalent to £40 million of the UK's £5.2 billion book industry.
According to Bruce Fair, Managing Director of Kelkoo UK, e-books are not currently as popular as printed books. However, the recent price war on e-readers combined with the launch of a plethora of devices - such as the third generation Kindle, Samsung Galaxy Tab and iPad - should act as a catalyst to boost consumer interest.
Amazon has reportedly been leading the way in the e-reader market. The company recently announced that its Kindle device was its highest selling product on both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk during the third quarter. Last month, the company announced the launch of the Kindle Single, a new e-book product.
The Kelkoo research further reveals that e-books are unlikely to take a majority share of the publishing market in the near future but thanks to innovations and growing popularity it is becoming an important element of it.
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