eBook demand grows after Borders collapse

Demand has grown for eBooks in the wake of Borders and Angus and Robertson collapsing, with eBook retailer Kobo announcing a 30% increase in site traffic. “The mere fact that there is all this speculation whether eBooks had pushed REDgroup into administration drove a lot of people to look at eBooks,” Kobo Australia chief Malcolm […]

Patrick Stafford 28 March, 2011

Demand has grown for eBooks in the wake of Borders and Angus and Robertson collapsing, with eBook retailer Kobo announcing a 30% increase in site traffic.

“The mere fact that there is all this speculation whether eBooks had pushed REDgroup into administration drove a lot of people to look at eBooks,” Kobo Australia chief Malcolm Neil told Fairfax.

“We actually saw a huge sales spike in the couple weeks afterwards.”

Neil estimates that eBook retail sales represent about 3-4% of the total amount of books sold in Australia last year, resulting in total eBook revenue of between $42-52 million.