BML Bowker Launches e-book Monitor

UK book market specialist BML Bowker has launched a new service to track the purchasing habits of e-book consumers in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North and South America.

The company is based in London and has been providing qual and quant data on British book buying behaviour for the past 20 years. Acquired by US publishing industry information firm Bowker last year, it is best known for its Books & Consumers surveys and BookZone Research Panel, but also provides customised ad hoc consultancy, syndicated work, and ongoing consumer panel research.

The new annual qual/quant study will track e-book adoption, attitudes and purchasing habits, and enable comparisons between e-book markets in countries experiencing differing growth patterns.

Initially, the research will target representative samples from the UK, US, Germany, France, Spain, India, Australia, Brazil, South Korea and Japan. Consumers from these countries will be surveyed on their purchases of digital content versus traditional formats in multiple settings and contexts.

The e-book monitor is supported by international publishing industry participants - including A.T. Kearney, the Book Industry Study Group (BISG), Pearson, and Tata Consultancy Services - who will collaborate on the creation of the survey and provide expertise in the interpretation of the results.

BML Bowker MD Jo Henry comments: 'We are delighted that the key organizations we identified to work with us on this project are on board, representing as they do different perspectives on the industry and offering a wealth of experience that will help provide valuable context for this study.'

Results will be issued next March, with detailed analysis revealed annually at international and digital book conferences.

Web sites: www.bookmarketing.co.uk and www.bowker.com .