Hi there birkett7,
It seems specific data on exactly what women buy in the way of books
isn't clear cut, but I was able to find enough information that we can
glean some general trends here.
First, women read more books than men. They read more frequently,
purchase more books, and are more likely to have finished a book in
the past week or months. This means that women's choices tend to be a
driving force in the book market.
Second, by far the largest single category of books sold is ROMANCE
FICTION comprising almost 39% of the entire fiction market. With a
readership that is 93% women, this genre accounts for the bulk of
women's book market.
Other large categories where the market data shows a lean towards
women are: cookbooks, religious books and self-help/psychology books.
Finally, one thought I had that doesn't seem to be taken into account
anywhere has to do with children's books. According to Publisher's
Weekly, one third of all books sold in the US are children's books. I
would guess (and I have no data to back this up) that most children's
books are purchased by women. I have referenced an article at the
bottom of the page that refers to this.
=====================
WOMEN VS MEN
=====================
71% of Women have read a book in the past 6 months
57% of Men have read a book in the past 6 months
ADULT LITERACY HABITS - US
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2001/section2/tables/t15_1a.asp
--------------------------------
CANADA
68% of Books are read by women
2000-2001 BOOK PUBLISHING INDUSTRY REPORT - CANADA
http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/padie-bpidp/pubs/2000_2001/document_e.pdf
Barnes and Lorimer found that two-thirds of Canadian book buyers have
post-secondary degrees and an annual family income over $55,000. Sixty
per cent are female.
CANADIAN BOOK BUYERS "CAPTURED IN THE ACT"
http://www.sfu.ca/mediapr/Releases/News/1996/june96/books.html
------------------------------------
*old, but shows the trend is consistant
56. Average number of books read by women in the last week: 18
57. By men: 12
MEDIA LITERACY - Gallup Poll, February 4, 1991
http://www.totse.com/en/media/the_media_industrial_complex/medialit.html
---------------------------
USA – Women Average readership -
% who read:
All Consumer magazines 86.2%
Women's Titles magazines 79.9%
TV Guides 21.4%
General Interest 72.2%
Special Interest 59.3%
MAGAZINE READERSHIP STATISTICS WORLDWIDE – WOMEN
http://www.fipp.com/Data/AverageWomenReadership.html
MAGAZINE READERSHIP STATISTICS WORLDWIDE –MEN
http://www.fipp.com/Data/AverageMenReadership.html
=======================
TRADE STATISTICS
=======================
GENERAL STATISTICS / COMPARISONS
Of all POPULAR FICTION Sold ---
Romance fiction comprises 35.8% of the market
Mystery/Detective/Suspense is 26.6%
General Fiction is 17%
Science Fiction/Fantasy is 6.6%
Religious, occult, westerns, male adventure, general history, adult
and movie tie-ins was 14 % of popular fiction sales
ROMANCE INDUSTRY STATISTICS
http://www.rwanational.org/statistics.stm#industry
--------------------------------
Popular Fiction makes up 54% of market share of all books sold. Total
units for the year 2000 is 729 million.
Of that --
Mystery 187 million (24.7%)
Romance 283 million (38.8%)
Science Fiction 53 million (7.3%)
General Fiction 88 million (12.1%)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY – TRADE STATISTICS
http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com/index.asp?layout=siteInfo&doc_id=21658&crumb=FAQs#trade
-------------------------------------
ROMANCE NOVELS
51.1 million Americans read romance novels
93% of all romance readers are women
21% of romance readers are between the ages of 25-34
Romance generated $1.52 billion in sales in 2001.
There were 2,143 romance titles released in 2001.
ROMANCE READERS
http://www.rwanational.org/statistics.stm#reader
-------------------------------
COOKBOOKS
Cooking/Wine 135 million books sold (10% of market share)
(Publishers Weekly)
Chefs Shake Up the Cookbook Market
PUBLISHING TRENDS (JULY 2000)
http://www.publishingtrends.com/copy/8-2000/chefs.htm
Canadian Cookbook Buyers
Rodale is offering the Betty Crocker Comfort Cooking book buyers file.
The 6,517 Canadians listed here prepare meals from recipes found in
“Betty Crocker Fix It Fast Family Favorites,” “Betty Crocker's 1-2-3
Dinner” and “Betty Crocker's Healthy New Choices.” The file is 88%
women, average age 43. Some 65% are college graduates.
DIRECT MARKETING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
http://www.directmag.com/ar/marketing_direct_listline_607/
------------------------------
RELIGIOUS BOOKS
Religion - 126 million books sold (9.3% of market share)
(Publishers Weekly)
Half of all adult book buyers (50%) and nearly half of all teen buyers
(44%) had purchased at least one Christian book title in the last
year….
Other segments who were above average consumers of Christian books
included political conservatives (48%), non-evangelical born again
Christians (47%), churched adults (46%), blacks (45%), women (44%),
divorcees (44%), Boomers (43%)…
The data in this report are based on three nationwide telephone
surveys conducted by the Barna Research Group
Half of All Americans Read Christian Books And One-Third Buy Them
January 27, 2003
http://www.barna.org/cgi-bin/PagePressRelease.asp?PressReleaseID=131&Reference=F
"women read 80% of the Christian books published"
ROAD BLOCKS
* this is a dubious source, but I include it for your interest
http://www.freewebs.com/godrox/jerry/Lessons/Roadblocks.htm
Christian Book Buying Preferences Examined
by Daisy Maryles -- 11/26/2001
http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com/index.asp?layout=articleArchive&articleid=CA183800
------------------------------
SELF HELP / PSYCHOLOGY BOOKS
Psychology/Recovery 70 million units sold (5.2% of market share)
(Publishers Weekly)
"…women buy slightly more self-help books than men; women choose more
books dealing with love and stress; men pick up more books about
motivation and self-improvement."
Reading psychology books and articles; watching TV talk shows and
videos
http://mentalhelp.net/psyhelp/chap15/chap15h.htm
-----------------------------
CHILDREN'S BOOKS
(No answer here, just a reference)
The SFU study is available from the Association of Canadian
Publishers. Other information includes: …answers questions such as:
Who buys children's books?
SFU Study - Canadian Book Buying Habits (March 2002)
http://www.sfu.ca/mediapr/Releases/News/1996/june96/books.html
See reports for purchase below.
========================
RESOURCES FOR PURCHASE
========================
BOOK INDUSTRY STUDY GROUP STATISTICS
http://www.bisg.org/pubs.htm
Canadian Book Buying Habits (March 2002)
http://www.publishers.ca/canbookbuying-2002.html
Thank you for your question. If anything isn't clear please let me
know and I'll be happy to clarify.
-K~
====================
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Books women buy
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