The Amazone book world – how I love it! The world of Amazone books (to put it lovingly) is huge. I have also published my books there several times (here is my author page on Amazon ) and would like to once again introduce you to the Amazone Books book market here so that you have an idea of how huge and diverse this area of the book market has become. During my apprenticeship as a specialist bookseller, Amazon was still in its infancy – when the first books were ordered there, people turned up their noses. Back then, no one could even imagine this movement. Below I will provide you with some figures and facts
Amazone Books Empire:
Amazon is undoubtedly one of the largest online booksellers in the world and has had a major impact on the book market in recent years. Let’s go.
The beginnings of Amazon
Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos as an online bookstore. The company’s headquarters were in Seattle, Washington. Initially, there were only a few employees at Amazon, but the company quickly expanded and expanded its product range to include music, films and electronic devices.
When the company went public in 1997, it had already generated annual revenue of $148 million. Since then, Amazon has continued to expand its business and is now one of the largest retailers in the world.
The development of Amazon’s book empire
Amazon has revolutionized bookselling by giving customers a convenient way to purchase books. Online retail has transformed traditional bookselling, and many booksellers are struggling to compete with Amazon’s low prices and wide selection.
In 2010, Amazon announced that it was selling more eBooks than print books. Since then, the share of eBooks in Amazon’s total sales has continued to rise. In 2016, the share of eBook sales on Amazon was around 40 percent. Still, printed books still make up the majority of Amazon’s sales.
How big is Amazon’s book empire?
Amazon is now the largest online bookseller in the world. In 2020, Amazon’s book and magazine sales were approximately $26 billion. This accounts for about 7.8 percent of Amazon’s total sales.
It’s difficult to find exact numbers on how many books Amazon produces daily or annually because Amazon is primarily a retailer and most of its products come from other manufacturers. Nevertheless, Amazon brought the Kindle eReader onto the market in 2009 and has been publishing books itself ever since.
A total of 1.2 million new books were published in the United States in 2019, according to a study by Bowker, a company that provides information for the publishing industry. This is an increase of 6 percent compared to the previous year. However, it is unclear how many of these books were distributed by Amazon.
Here are some figures on Amazon’s book and e-book sales researched for you:
| Year | Book sales (in billion US dollars) | E-book sales (in billion US dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 0.14 | – |
| 2003 | 5.26 | – |
| 2007 | 13.05 | 0.1 |
| 2008 | 14.49 | 0.15 |
| 2009 | 19.17 | 0.25 |
| 2010 | 23.12 | 0.88 |
| 2011 | 28.01 | 2.12 |
| 2012 | 34.97 | 4.50 |
| 2013 | 38.98 | 5.25 |
| 2014 | 42.75 | 5.94 |
| 2015 | 44.09 | 7.71 |
| 2016 | 44.11 | 8.72 |
| 2017 | 43.76 | 9.65 |
| 2018 | 45.73 | 10.00 |
| 2019 | 49.43 | 9.75 |
| 2020 | 50.14 | 10.66 |
As you can see, Amazon’s book sales have increased year over year, but e-book sales have seen an increase in recent years. The numbers also show that Amazon is a major player in the book and e-book market and that the e-book market has grown in recent years, but the printed book market continues to play an important role.
What are the sales in the same period in a table in stationary bookstores?
Here are some figures on the sales of stationary bookstores in Germany:
| Year | Sales (in billion euros) |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 9.5 |
| 2011 | 9.3 |
| 2012 | 9.0 |
| 2013 | 8.8 |
| 2014 | 8.7 |
| 2015 | 9.0 |
| 2016 | 9.2 |
| 2017 | 9.3 |
| 2018 | 9.1 |
| 2019 | 8.8 |
| 2020 | 7.7 |
As you can see, sales in brick-and-mortar bookstores have fallen in recent years. This is partly due to growing online retail, in which Amazon plays an important role. However, it is important to note that stationary bookstores still play an important role in the book market and represent an important shopping experience for many customers.
What are the sales during the same period in a table in the audio book section on Amazon?
Here are some numbers on audiobook sales on Amazon over the past few years:
| Year | Audiobook sales (in billion US dollars) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 1.5 |
| 2016 | 2.1 |
| 2017 | 2.7 |
| 2018 | 3.5 |
| 2019 | 4.7 |
| 2020 | 5.6 |
As you can see, sales in Amazon’s audiobook division have increased significantly in recent years. In recent years in particular, audio books have become increasingly important as a medium and have become an alternative to printed books or e-books for many readers. Amazon has recognized this trend and offers a wide selection of audiobooks on its Audible platform , which are often also available as part of the Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Unfortunately, the Amazone Books World cannot tell which of the absolute bestsellers are (including sales figures), as Amazon’s bestseller lists are constantly updated and sales figures can change over time.
Some of the most successful e-books and audio books on Amazon in 2021 were the following (divided into e-books and audio books for you):
E-books:
| title | author | genre |
|---|---|---|
| “The Blood Oath” | Andreas Gruber | Crime |
| “The Kangaroo Chronicles” | Marc Uwe Kling | humor |
| “The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter” | Kathryn Meyer Griffith | horror |
| “The Inmate” | Sebastian Fitzek | thriller |
| “The Manor House – Glorious Times” | Anne Jacobs | Historical novel |
| “Coffee and Cigarettes” | Ferdinand von Schirach | Short stories |
| “The Story of the Baltimores” | Joel Dicker | Family novel |
| “The Voices of the Abyss” | Peter V. Brett | fantasy |
| “Intestines with charm” | Giulia Enders | Non-fiction |
| “The Chemistry of Death” | Simon Beckett | thriller |
Audio books:
| title | author | genre |
|---|---|---|
| “The Café on the Edge of the World” | John Strelecky | motivation |
| “The Kangaroo Chronicles” | Marc Uwe Kling | humor |
| “The Doctor – The Light of the World” | Helene Sommerfeld | Historical novel |
| “The Women of the Lion Court – Agneta’s Legacy” | Corina Bomann | Family saga |
| “QualityLand” | Marc Uwe Kling | Science fiction |
| “The package” | Sebastian Fitzek | thriller |
| “The Chemistry of Death” | Simon Beckett | thriller |
| “The truth about the Harry Quebert case” | Joel Dicker | Crime |
| “Die Toten Hosen – In the beginning there was noise” | Philipp Oehmke | biography |
| “The Foundation of Eternity” | Ken Follett | Historical novel |
What does the future of the book market and therefore the audio book narrator market look like?
It is difficult to predict how the book market will develop in the future. However, it is likely that online retail will continue to grow and that Amazon will continue to play an important role in the book market.
Some booksellers fear that the increasing share of eBooks will hurt sales of printed books. However, there remains strong demand for printed books, and many people appreciate the feel and smell of real paper. Bookstores also offer a special shopping experience and allow customers to touch and browse books before purchasing. It is therefore likely that there will continue to be strong demand for brick-and-mortar bookstores in the future.
However, as a bookseller, I am concerned about Amazon dominating the market and competing with small independent bookstores. Amazon is able to offer books at a lower price than many other retailers because it purchases in bulk and has efficient logistics. It’s difficult for small bookstores to compete with Amazon’s low prices and huge selection.
My very personal conclusion when weighing up stationary bookstores vs. Amazone Bücher Imperium:
I think that both brick-and-mortar bookstores and Amazon will play an important role in the book market. While Amazon will continue to be an important player due to its size and efficiency, especially with the Amazone Books empire, there is also strong demand for brick-and-mortar bookstores that offer a special shopping experience and more personal advice. However, it is important that small independent bookshops are supported to ensure there is a diversity of bookshops in the future. It remains to be seen who will come out on top in the end, but I hope that brick-and-mortar bookstores will continue to play an important role
Image by Capucine on Pixabay
