Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors Toward The Emerging E-reading Market

Christopher Dodson
cwdodson@eagles.usi.edu
ENG 316

ABSTRACT
The publishing industry is reeling from the rise of e-book technology. With the
movement of literature to a digital format, stores are closing and markets are scrambling for
ways to stay afloat. But the surprise publishers seem to be experiencing with the advent of
digital reading devices appears to be reflected by consumers, as well. Readers claim not to like
the cold experience of reading from a digital device, and yet the e-book industry is booming.
This study addresses the fact that both producers and consumers of literature profess reluctance
to adopt the e-book format, while the format continues to experience unqualified success. An
interview of consumers, as well as a follow-up survey, will be conducted to determine if there is
a measureable difference between what consumers say they prefer, and what their behaviors
demonstrate about their actual preferences.

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INTRODUCTION
The publishing industry has existed, in some form or another, for centuries. But in the
last few years, a massive ground shift has pulled the rug out from under even the most venerable
of its giants. The introduction of e-reading devices has challenged not only a sales model that
has stood the test of time, but is redefining our very concept of the book. But these devices
have not appeared on the scene without causing a good deal of trepidation among both producers
and consumers. A book is more than words on a page. The weight, the tactile sensation of the
pages, even the smell of the pulp; all the properties we associate with the object create a
connection, even a love, that is the product of sentimentalism as much as convenience.
And yet, that hasnt stopped the march of digital progress. E-book sales are soaring, and
purveyors of traditional print media are getting nervous. The numbers from the industry indicate
that advance orders from major accounts indeed, from all accounts on all books are being
cut from what they used to be (Shatzkin). Publishers and booksellers are fearful of e-books, and
consumers, the driving engine of the industry, seem doubtful at best. So what exactly is stoking
the e-book fire? Where is the disconnect between what we say we prefer (the ideal of curling
up with a good book) and the ways in which we make our purchasing decisions?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. How friendly is the attitude toward ebooks and e-reading devices among consumers in
the leisure-reading market?
2. Are consumer attitudes toward e-books and e-reading devices formed more from firsthand experience, or from second-hand knowledge?

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3. Does consumer behavior correlate with stated consumer attitudes toward e-reading
devices, or does it differ?
LITERATURE REVIEW
The arrival and ascent of ebooks on the publishing scene has been, by its very nature,
uncertain. The pace of technology has taken not only consumers, but also producers off guard.
As a result, the studies that have been performed on the phenomenon are few, unfocused, and
largely reactionary. To filter through the uncoordinated field of research available, it is
necessary to start from the broadest frame of reference and narrow available resources until a gap
is found. The most obvious place to start in such a case is with those who have the most skin in
the game, the publishers themselves.
The publishing industry is fractured between long-entrenched entities and anything short
of raw, publicly-available statistics must necessarily be less than comprehensive. Nonetheless,
endeavors have been made to study an adequate sampling of the industrys players. In 2009, the
Book Industry Study Group and The Idea Logical Company carried out a survey of industry
professionals, followed by interviews with a dozen executives from both large and small
publishing houses. The study was designed to discover what exactly industry members thought
was happening with the arrival of ebooks, and what they saw coming in the future.
The study found a great deal of fear throughout publishing, combined with a high degree
of uncertainty about the future. There is some disagreement as to whether the chains or
independents are sliding faster at this time, Shatzkin writes, but everybody sees brick-andmortar bookstore sales and shelf space reducing (Shatzkin 155). Whether with fear or with
anticipation, the industry in total seems to be reacting to the market rather than driving it. In a
sector of the economy so entrenched in the culture, we might normally expect the major players

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to have a pretty good handle on the market. But the opposite seems to be happening in
publishing. Shatzkin found ...much more gloom in our survey from big publishers than from
medium and small (Shatzkin 155). The same people who should be in charge of what is
happening are the very people who appear to be most at a loss. Doubt about the future is so
prevalent that it even collectively discourages some people looking into the future about
ebook margins (Shatzkin 157).
Though the industry is in disarray, consumers seem to be faring no better. Information
here is even sparser, with most studies being restricted to academic environments. Attitudes
about mass market ebooks are not in evidence. The best that can be done is to abstract those
attitudes from study findings about student experiences with e-books. According to a study
carried out by the University of Denvers Penrose Library, ninety-seven percent of students said
in a survey that they were likely to only use an ebook to read a chapter or less, and that they
would prefer print when reading whole books (Levine-Clark 292). Textbook usage tended to
allow greater acceptance of ebooks, but students were more hesitant about reading material in
which immersion was desirable. Follow-up questions made it clear that users like electronic
books for certain types of reading and, by implication, may prefer print for others (Levine-Clark
292).
While individual readers are dividing their preferences based on the content of the
reading material, the market itself may also be fragmenting. A study of opinions on ebooks at
Miami University found that research identified four distinct opinion types among those
surveyed, which we labeled Book Lovers, Technophiles, Pragmatists, and Printers (Revelle
421). Readers were dividing into camps based on inherent preferences for print or electronic
formats that had nothing to do with the type of reading material. Readers are no longer a

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monolithic entity, but are becoming a collection of different media consumers who choose their
formats based a variety of different motivations. But even for those groups that supported the
idea of ebooks, the study concluded that there is a hesitance to make a complete commitment
to the format and many still indicated that they would also like the option of print as well
(Revelle 428).
Even the most recent survey, conducted by the OnCampus Research Division of the
National Association of College Stores in the fall of 2010, found a hesitancy to embrace ebooks.
Just over half of the respondents said that they chose an electronic format because it was required
for their course, and two-thirds of the students said that they would prefer print if given the
choice (Survey 8). Nonetheless, despite the preferences of students, 86 percent of them
agreed or strongly agreed that ebook content will be an important source for instructional
resources in five years (Survey 8).
It seems that, though research done on publishers and consumers indicates both have
misgivings about the format and its implications, both nevertheless look toward the rise of
ebooks as an inevitability. Research in the area of consumer opinions is limited almost
exclusively to academic settings, though, and available information about format preferences in
leisure reading is as lacking as explanations about the forces that motivate them.
STUDY DESIGN
I propose the presentation of an initial survey to my study participants, followed by a
series of small focus groups. The survey will allow me to collect a volume of quantifiable data,
and will also allow me to select out participants with particular views that I will pit against each
other to collect qualitative data in the following interviews.

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Participants
The most effective study of the e-book phenomenon will be done at a place where all the
disparate communities of readers are most likely to be found together. The previous studies that
have been performed at college campuses, even if they were to shift their focus from textbooks
to mass market leisure literature, would still present a demographically restricted sample. This is
why I will take my study away from campus, and will instead perform it at the Barnes and
Nobles on Green River Road in Evansville. Since the closing of Borders on the east side of the
city, Barnes and Nobles serves as the areas only big-box book retailer, thus attracting a
customer base that is both large and diverse enough for my study.

Data Collection
The initial survey, attached as appendix A, will be presented to customers leaving Barnes
and Nobles. It is an eighteen-question survey, with answers organized in a ranking system from
1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). The results of those surveys will allow me to select
participants for a series of small (5 member) focus groups. The focus groups will be held in the
caf area at the Barnes and Nobles where the surveys were distributed on days that are agreeable
with the schedules of each particular groups members.
I will lead the groups myself, and will record both audio and visual data with a laptop
camera and microphone. The groups will begin with general questions about participants
experiences with, and feelings about, the rise of e-books and e-reading devices. I will construct
groups of participants who appear (by their survey answers) to have conflicting views, and my
objective will be to quickly get these participants debating among each other. The attachment to
print media over technology or, conversely, to technological progress over obsolete tradition, is

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as much an emotional conviction as it is an intellectual one. I anticipate that stirring debate (in
effect, pitting participants against one another) will reveal conceptions and opinions that might
not otherwise be apparent, even to the participants themselves.

Data Analysis
The answers to the interview will be qualitatively scored in three groups. The first four
questions will have scores of 1 point for [yes] and 0 points for [no]. These questions serve as a
gatekeeping section to delineate between subjects who do, and those who do not, have first-hand
experience with the field of study. Participants who do not score a total of 2 or more points will
be disregarded for further study.
The second group, questions 5 through 11, each require answers ranging from [1] for
strongly agree to [5] for strongly disagree. Answers to questions in this group will be scored
according to the number assigned to each answer. Participants whose answers in this section add
up to 5 or less will be coded as Group A. A total of between 6 and 10 points will be coded as
Group B, and a total of between 11 and 18 points will be coded as Group C. This division
characterizes three sub-groups of subjects according to the extent of their experience with ereading devices, with Group A having the most experience and Group C having the least.
Participants who have a score of 19 or higher will be deemed as having an amount of experience
with e-reading devices that is considered too inadequate for further study.
The third group, questions 11 through 14, will determine the composition of the focus
study groups. Subjects who answered with a score of 10 or less will be designated as E-book
Unit 1 subjects. Subjects with a score of between 11 and 13 will be designated as E-book Unit
2 subjects. Subjects with scores of 14 or higher will be designated as E-book Unit 3 subjects.

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The fourth group, questions 15 through 18, will likewise determine the composition of
the focus study groups. Subjects who answered with a score of 10 or less will be designated as
Print Unit 1 subjects. Subjects who answered with a score of between 11 and 13 will be
designated as Print Unit 2 subjects. Subjects with a score of 14 or higher will be designated as
Print Unit 3 subjects.
I will hold three focus groups, with subjects grouped together according to their
experience-level classification (Groups A, B, and C). I will cap the focus group size at five
participants, with subjects to be selected according to their e-book versus print preferences (Ebook/Print Units 1, 2, and 3). Group composition is to be formulated so that each group contains
participants that represent the range of e-book versus print preference. The ideal group
composition will be as follows: Each group will contain one subject that scores as E-book Unit 1
while also scoring as Print Unit 2 or 3. Each group will also contain one subject that scores as
Print Unit 1 while also scoring as E-book Unit 2 or 3. A third member will be comprised of a
subject who scored as both Print and E-book Unit 2 or 1. The remaining two members will
consist of subjects who scored as both Print and E-Book Unit 2 or 3. If an ideal group cannot
be constructed, participants will be selected that come as close to the ideal group composition as
possible.
Focus groups will be recorded both visually and audibly on a laptop camera and
microphone. Discussions will be transcribed, with each participant being ranked (1-5) according
to the frequency of favorable or unfavorable terms used to describe attitudes toward both e-books
and print books. Subjects visual reactions will also be coded as favorable or unfavorable when
speaking of either e-books or print books, with the subjects of each group being ranked (1-5)
according to the frequency of these visible reactions. Each subject will have his verbal and

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visual ranking added together, producing a final favorability ranking for each subject in the
categories of e-book favorability and print favorability. These rankings will then be
compared to the subjects pre-focus group survey Unit scores.

SIGNIFICANCE
The point of both the survey and the focus group is to determine subject familiarity with
e-reading devices, and to determine the difference (if any) between stated attitudes and
observable behaviors. The survey serves as a sort of filtering and grouping device, dividing
subjects according to their experience with, and stated preference for, e-reading devices versus
print books. The focus groups will serve to stimulate and observe actual behavior. Comparing
the results of the two data collection methods will determine whether or not our stated attitudes
concur with our behaviors.
The question plaguing the publishing industry is not unique to the field of literature. It is
a question of human behavior, of how we make choices, and of whether or not we are honest
(with others and with ourselves) about the reasons for those choices. It is my suspicion, which I
expect this study will confirm, that we idealize and sentimentalize our attitudes far beyond how
they actually play out in reality.

CONSENT, ACCESS AND PERMISSIONS

I will approach the management of Barnes and Noble with the request that I be allowed to
present my survey on a Saturday to customers leaving the store. Management at the store may
be attracted to the idea of distributing marketing materials (advertisements, coupons) with the
survey, but I will also be purchasing a $50 Barnes and Noble gift card as a prize to be presented

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to the winner of a drawing, the names of which will be selected from those who agree to be part
of the focus groups. I may be able to convince management to offer the survey to customers at
checkout, but if that is not successful then the marketing benefit of distributing B&N materials,
along with a B&N gift card, ought to be enough to convince them to let me distribute the survey
myself at the store for a day.
The survey (attached in appendix A), will collect participants names and contact
information. It will be distributed with a stamped, self-addressed return envelope in which it will
be mailed back to me when completed. As I receive each survey, the information will be
transferred to digital format to be kept exclusively on an encoded flash drive and locked in a fireproof personal safe at my home. The original hard-copy surveys will be destroyed as soon as the
information is transcribed. The audio-visual recordings from the focus groups will also be stored
exclusively on a password-encrypted external hard drive that will be stored in the safe. All
transcripts of the focus groups will use pseudonyms for the participants, and will be stored
digitally on the same flash drive as the survey information. All information collected will be
destroyed when no longer needed.

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REFERENCES
Levine-Clark, Michael. Electronic Book Usage: A Survey At The University of Denver.
Libraries and the Academy 6.3 (2006): 285-299. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Revelle, Andy, and Messner, Kevin, and Shrimplin, Aaron, and Hurst, Susan. Book Lovers,
Technophiles, Pragmatists, and Printers: The Social and Demographic Structure of User
Attitudes Toward E-Books. College and Research Libraries 73.5 (2012): 420-429. Web.
26 Oct. 2013.
Shatzkin, Mike. Shifting Sales Channels. Publishing Research Quarterly 25.3 (2009): 154158. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
Survey: Students Still Hesitant To Embrace E-Books. Presidency 14.1 (2011): 8-8. Web 27
Oct. 2013.

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APPENDIX A
Name:
Phone Number: (
-

For the following questions, please check only one answer.

1. Do you consider yourself to be an avid reader?

[yes]__ [no]__
2. Do you know someone who owns, or has used, an e-reading device?
[yes]__ [no]__
3. Have you ever used an e-reading device before?
[yes]__ [no]__
4. Do you own an e-reading device?
[yes]__ [no]__

For the following questions, please check:

[1] for strongly agree
[2] for somewhat agree
[3] for neutral
[4] for somewhat disagree
[5] for strongly disagree

If the question does not apply to you, leave that answer blank.

5. I am planning to purchase an e-reading device in the near future.

[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
6. My use of e-reading devices has increased over time.
[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
7. I use an e-reading device for the majority of my reading.
[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__

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8. I use my e-reading device primarily for leisure reading.

[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
9. I anticipate that my use of e-reading devices will increase in the future.
[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
10. I think that e-reading devices will become more prevalent than print books in the near
future.
[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
11. I consider using e-reading devices to be an enjoyable experience.
[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
12. I prefer using e-reading devices over reading print books for most/all of my reading.
[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
13. I prefer using e-reading devices over reading print books in specific settings.
[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
14. If given the choice, I would always choose to use an e-reading device over reading a print
book.
[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
15. I consider reading a print book to be an enjoyable experience.
[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
16. I prefer reading print books over using e-reading devices for most/all of my reading.
[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
17. I prefer reading print books over using e-reading devices in specific settings.
[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
18. If given the choice, I would always choose to read print books over using e-reading
devices.
[1]__ [2]__ [3]__ [4]__ [5]__
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