Women Readers QUE LEEN - A Production of - Entre Editores
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QUE LEEN
Women Readers
A Production ofWOMEN READERS IN ARGENTINA
A production of Entre Editores, carried out by Trini Vergara
with Lucila Quintana, during February and March 2019 in Argentina.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY
1. PART ONE: GENERAL ANALYSIS
1.1. Women Readers’ Age
1.2. Where do They Live?
1.3. How Much do They Read Per Month?
1.4. Their Suggested Retail Price
1.5. Printed, Audio, E-books
1.6. When do They Read?
1.7. Their Favourite Genres
1.8. Consumer Habits Analysis
1.8.1. Who Recommends Their Readings?
1.8.2 Their Searching Process
1.8.3. Where do They Buy Their Printed Books?
1.8.4. Online Shopping and Shipping Preferences
1.8.5. Do they Buy Books to Give as Presents?
2. PART TWO: AGE ANALYSIS
2.1. Age Groups
2.2. Favourite Genres According to Age
2.3. How Much do They Read Per Month and Age?
2.4. Who Recommends Them Books in Each Age Group?
2.5. When Do They Read According to Age?
2.6. Suggested Price for Books According to Age
3. APPENDIX: FEATURED COMMENTS
•2QUE LEEN
INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY
Consumer data show that most buyers of any product independent and chains, through their own social media
or service are female, whether those are cars, insurance and data bases. That’s how we gathered over 5,000
services, clothing (for her and for others), or books. responses from around the country. Hence, the data has
There are official statistics on cultural and entertainment enormous representativeness and the results are solid
consumption, periodically published, that show rates and statistically reliable.
and data, in general, analyzed --among other criteria- by
gender and age. The Women Readers´ survey focuses on the questions
that publishers would ask their book´s readers, because
What is missing in our country are statistics and analysis they are their final consumers.
within the universe of women readers (meaning, all the
participants are self-declared readers), from the point This report it’s divided in two parts. In the first one we
of view of the publishers. This is the main goal of this show the answers to the general questions in simple and
research: describe or at least get a better understanding easily understandable graphics. In the second part, we
of this specific reading universe. present a deeper data analysis, with an age segmentation.
These age groups have been divided according to typical
Every woman in this study is a reader, all of them of publishers needs and to how they build their lists, even
legal age, starting at age 18 (adolescents and children though the boundaries are not always clear.
girls are not included). The survey was conducted in
Argentina during the months of February and March
2019 with digital tools and it was spread out through
the social, personal and professional networks of the
Entre Editores´ organization. In addition, we had the
collaboration of the main bookstores of the country, both
•3QUE LEEN
KEY FINDINGS
One of the key findings that we will present is the ambiguous Argentines are very sophisticated readers. A 56% of women
role of bookstores today. Although booksellers are not the prefer to read literary fiction by National, Latin American or
main recommenders, bookstores still remain as the favourite International authors. A second favourite genre is romance,
shopping place. Women find their future readings and boots followed by the rest of the popular genres (thrillers, history,
find in Google, they read blogs and follow authors in social etc), as it is described in the next graphics (see point 1.7). This
media, but the 75 % doesn’t wait to ask the booksellers for preference for quality literature shows a very interesting reader
recommendations. At the same time, a majority of them universe. It probably does not match the bestseller lists but it
(57%) go directly to the store when they want to buy a book. has a “Long tail” behaviour, in which most readers opt for their
Meanwhile, a 43% buy online (see shopping and shipping very personal and selective tastes. Remember that this data
details at 1.8). E-commerce grows in every brand and product reflect reading - not buying- habits: it’s about knowing what
in Argentina, and this applies to books as well. they prefer to read (either a borrowed or a book).
Regarding the economic context, today we observe a huge In the second part of our analysis, where we studied our
distortion between the market prices and the amount of readers according to their age, we found other interesting data.
money that women expect to pay for a novel of 350-400 The younger readers (18 to 25 y/o) are the most voracious,
pages. On average, women wanted to pay ARS 485 for a book and the sophisticated readers tend to concentrate in two
with the characteristics described before, when that precise different age segments: those on their first autonomy stage
kind of book was priced at ARS 670 in the bookstores, both at (26 to 35 y/o) or at their middle age and over (over 45 y/o).
the time of our survey. (Source: Cúspide and Yenny El Ateneo Regarding recommendations and buying processes, although
book chains). Note: Argentina has a fixed retail price system for the younger readers obviously search online for new books,
the book market. We believe this gap between price perception the older ones (over 60%) also have this habit now, leaving the
and reality has two components: inflation, that distorts relative bookseller´s recommendation as the least important one.
prices, but also the digital revolution we all live in, that leads us
to systematically compare traditional goods and services with The survey has allowed us to get a better understanding of the
their new digital, less expensive, version. So everything we see women readers universe. We add a short appendix with some
in brick & mortar stores may feel expensive in our minds now. of the “optional comments” we received, that give us a direct
insight on their thoughts and experience, like the importance of
Argentine women read at all ages, as we verify when checking reading in their lives, or how they regret not being able to have
it with our age segmentation -students, first autonomous an easy access to books. This dimension is perhaps the most
stage, development stage and middle age and over, the habit important one for our book industry. Women read all sorts of
is almost homogeneous. They are mainly night readers (60 %) genres, and whenever they can. The bookstores remain their
and they also read more on weekends and holidays, as one favourite buying place and printed books are still the chosen
could expect. ones. It is our wish that this survey and analysis become an
starting point to enhance the reading habits -and possibilities--
of women, and each of their social environments.
•4QUE LEEN
1. PART ONE: GENERAL ANALYSIS
1.1. Women Readers’ Age
The majority of readers are 26 to 35 years old. We assume they are in their first autonomous stage and are
building their clear preferences. It’s possible that they haven’t been mothers yet, and therefore they have more
time on their own. In any case, the data shows us that women read in every stage of their lives.
18 to 25 y/o 26 to 35 y/o
19.9% 28.8%
Over 46 y/o
36 to 45 y/o
27.5%
23.8%
1.2. Where do They Live? Number of women surveyed
by province
As with any other consumer data, most buyers live in or around
Jujuy Chaco
big city centers: Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires/Buenos Salta 8 55
62
Formosa
Aires City and Provincia de Buenos Aires or in highly populated La Rioja
4
5
Misiones
Tucumán 8
cities such as Cordoba, Rosario, Santa Fe and Tucuman. In
Santiago
145 del Estero
Catamarca 32 Corrientes
7 58
the rest of the country the information we gathered is directly San Juan Cordoba
Santa Fe
198
59 519 Entre Rios
proportional to the amount of active bookstores in each place. San 75 Rosario
Luis 421
Mendoza 43 CABA
133 933
Bs. As.
La Pampa 1625
10 GBA
Neuquen
Chubut 57
395
2.2% Resto
Rio Negro
10.7% 28
Mendoza
2.6%
Chubut
Tucuman Bs As 109
2.9% 32.4%
Santa Fe
3.9% Santa Cruz
16
Rosario GBA
Abroad 82
8.4% 7.9%
Cordoba CABA
10.4% 18.6% Tierra del Fuego
13
•5QUE LEEN PART ONE
1.3. How Much do They Read Per Month?
Most readers respond 1 to 2 books per month, which means at least 12 books per year. It is a high average if we
take into account international metrics, and shows a strong reading habit among women readers in Argentina.
It is important to study the simultaneous decrease in production and in sales in this country, monitoring the
evolution of the market. Women readers are borrowing more than buying, (public libraries or personal networks)
because their reading habits remain high.
How much do they Less than 1 book
read each month? 13.4% 1 book
31.4%
5 books
6.3%
4 books
6.5%
3 books 2 books
13.5% 28.9%
1.4. Their Suggested Retail Price
The survey was conducted between February and March of 2019. At the time the average price of a printed book
for a novel of 350-400 pages was around ARS 670 (source: Cúspide and Yenny-El Ateneo bookstore chains). Most
of the readers (53.6%) answered that the price for the mentioned book should be “between 300 and 499”. Taking
into account only this rank of price, the average that most women would pay was ARS 400. The gap between the
real price and the suggested one was over 50%, even though some of the discrepancy can be explained by the
inflationary adjustments, the unsatisfied demand of the readers still remain. Most women consider books are too
expensive.
3000
Suggested 53.6%
price of
2680
a novel
2000
32.98%
1649
1000
7% 1.28%
5.14%
350 64
257
0
ARS 300 ARS 500 ARS 700
Price - ARS 300 + ARS 900
to ARS 499 to ARS 699 to ARS 899
•6QUE LEEN PART ONE
1.5. Printed, Audio, E-books Audio
E-book 2.2%
There are two important findings: the 11.6%
growth of the e-book (until 2 years
ago, the data showed that it was less
than 3% of the market) that reaches a
11.6%; and the steadily growing market
for audiobooks that already reached a Printed
86.2%
2.2% among women —a year ago it was
less than 1% in the general surveys.
1.6. When do They Read?
When asked about the time of the day for reading, women respond “at night” (almost 60%), when all the work
and activities are over, and they find that personal time necessary to read. We can also note that “Anytime” is
the response of 18.7% of women, quite a big proportion —those are intense readers. In the second graphic,
when asked about “reading occasions”, we can see that holidays are the most favourable time to read as it is
expected, followed by weekends. Although “Before Bedtime” (either on weekdays, weekends or holidays) still
remains as the favourite reading time for most women.
At what time do you read? Anytime
18.7%
Morning
5.5%
Night
Afternoon 59.0%
16.8%
When do you read? On Transports
Weekends 9.6%
23.7% Waiting Rooms
13.2%
Before Bedtime
Holidays
23.6%
29.9%
•7QUE LEEN PART ONE
1.7. Their Favourites Genres
Argentine women are sophisticated readers. Over 50% chose Literary Fiction as one of their favourites, both by
Spanish original and translated authors. Romance is as popular as quality literature, and its followed by History
(Fiction and Non Fiction, as we posed the question), Thrillers, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Self Help and General
Non Fiction. The last two genres were quite popular a few years ago, but they have lost some of that popularity.
We would like to note that the survey included more genres (poetry, theatre, graphic novels, cookbooks, religious,
etc.): those results are not shown here because they were too atomized (few for each of a big variety, as a Long
Tail effect).
3000
2665 2615 2603
2000 2172
2008
1835
1000
903 897 890
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•8QUE LEEN PART ONE
1.8. Consumer Habits Analysis
1.8.1. Who Recommends Their Readings?
One of the key findings is that most people do not seek the bookseller as a source of recommendations.
Respondents genreally do a Google search and read recommendation websites, such as “Goodreads”, “La gente
anda leyendo”, “Eterna Cadencia” or “Epic Reads”, and they also read blogs. A 75% of the time, women search for their
next reading with some digital tool. This means that a 25% of readers use the recommendation of a “real” person, like
a bookseller, friend or family.
Note: in a future survey we will investigate the relationship between reading habits of books versus media reading,
news media, magazines and other media platforms. This is why book or culture sections of newspapers or other
media were not included as a possible response.
2500
2426
2284
2000 2160
1840 1798
1500
1000
1039
500
0
Google search Recommendation Follow the author Recomendation Blogs Recommendation
websites on social media by friends or family by bookseller
1.8.2. Their Searching Process
When asked about their searching process, over 50% said that they go directly to a bookstore to “see what’s new”,
even if they don’t look for a specific book. Another significant finding is that already a 13.4% searches and buys
books online. In short, in Argentina, the 86.6% of women still buy in brick and mortar bookstores, but e-commerce
is already at 13.4%, following the growth of this habit in all consumer tendencies.
I search information
and buy books online
13.4%
I search
I go directly
information
to the bookstore
online and
afterwards go to 51.3%
the bookstore
35.3%
•9QUE LEEN PART ONE
1.8.3. Where do They Buy Their Printed Books?
To complete the scenario, we see that, still today, a 57% of readers buy their books at the bookstore. They also
chose “Mercado Libre” (the biggest online marketplace in Argentina and Latin America) as their preferred website
when they buying online, even more than other online bookstores and the publisher’s website.
Book Depository
Google Search
4.4%
2.0%
Online Bookstore
12.9% Amazon
4.0%
Publisher
website
4.4% Bookstore
57.0%
Mercado Libre
15.3%
1.8.4. Online Shopping and Shipping Preferences
Saving money is a key point for Argentine women. While in other markets delivery time is a decisive factor, in
Argentina high logistics costs, on top of an ongoing economic crisis make a fast shipping less important than
the money spent. When they can choose, women prefer to wait some time, instead of having to pay for the
delivery.
Fast, even if I have to
pay the shipping
12.8%
Free shipping if
I have to wait
some time
87.2%
• 10QUE LEEN PART ONE
1.8.5. Do they Buy Books to Give as Presents?
In accordance to reading habits of Argentine women, their friends and family also tend to read. Even when the
books´ prices are considered high, they are still a good choice for a gift. That wouldn’t be possible without the
buyer being a reader, able to choose a book on the first place, and second, that she has a milieu of friends and
family readers, whom she knows will cherish and be grateful for her present.
Do they buy books to give as presents?
No
10.7%
Yes
89.3%
Habits of giving books as gifts and presents
I frecuently give books
as presents and usually
spend more money on
gifts than on myself
I seldom give
10.6% books as gifts
7.1%
For Birthday and
Holiday Season
82.3%
• 11QUE LEEN PART TWO
2. PART TWO: AGE ANALYSIS
2.1. Age Groups
In this analysis we have divided the readers into four age segments, each of them defined according to the
successive stages of adulthood. This is a conceptual, not sociological division, useful for the present survey. In
other words, the criterion adopted here is close to that used by publishers when building their lists.
18 - 25 y/o Students
26 - 35 y/o First Autonomous Stage
36 - 45 y/o Personal and/or Professional Development
Over 46 y/o Maturity
The first age group goes from 18 to 25 years old, and we call it “Students”, meaning either college or university
students, along with women who want to expand their knowledge with professional education, relevant to their
present or future carreer.
The second segment goes from 26 to 35 years old, and we call it “First Autonomous Stage”. It intends to define
women who are starting a new path in their lives economically independent of their families, living alone or with
a partner or friend.
The third age group is from 36 to 45 years old and it represents a stage of “Personal and/or Professional
Development”. Their responsibilities grow, specially if they have children, and their free time diminishes (along
with their reading time).
Finally, starting at 46 years old, we call it “Maturity”, a phase in which their experience give women more time for
their own needs, including more the time to read.
• 12QUE LEEN PART TWO
2.2. Favourite Genres According to Age
Some genres know no age difference, like Romance. Others have clear age-preference, like Self Help (preferred
by older readers, over 36 years old) or Fantasy and Science Fiction (favourites among younger readers, mainly in
their early twenties).
However, a notable finding is that one of the most popular genre is Literary Fiction, either original Spanish authors
(from Argentina, Spain or Latin America), or translated from other languages. Literary fiction is mostly read by two
different age groups: over 46 and young women in their first autonomous stage, from 26 to 35.
In the chart below we can see each genre and how often they are chosen by women in the different age groups.
Below this, in the following charts we focus on each segment, to look at their preferences in detail.
18 to 25 y/o 26 to 35 y/o 36 to 45 y/o 46 y/o and over
1000
750
500
250
0
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• 13QUE LEEN PART TWO
Favourite genres: 18 to 25 y/o
Self Help
General Non Fiction
2.5%
4.2%
Business
0.9% Romance
18.8%
Spanish Written
Literary Fiction
13.5% Thrillers
11.8%
Translated
Literary Fiction
15.4% History
8.4%
Sci Fi
Fantasy
8.7%
15.8%
As we can see, younger readers clearly prefer Romance, closely followed by genres such as
Fantasy or International Literary Fiction. They mostly prefer Fiction over Non Fiction (being either
General Non Fiction, History, Self Help or Business).
Favourite genres: 26 to 35 y/o
General Non Fiction
Self Help 6.2%
4.2%
Romance
Business 14.0%
1.6%
Thrillers
Spanish Written
12.6%
Literary Fiction
16.4%
Translated
Literary Fiction
History
11.5%
16.1%
Sci Fi Fantasy
5.5% 11.9%
In this age group the interest in Literary Fiction starts, by authors who speak and write in Spanish
(Argentina, Spain or Latin America), and by International authors as well. Romance, Thrillers and
Fantasy stay strong and in the Non Fiction category the only one that they prefer is History.
• 14QUE LEEN PART TWO
Favourite genres: 36 to 45 y/o
Self Help General Non Fiction
7.4% 5.2%
Business Romance
2.2% 15%
Spanish Written
Literary Fiction Thrillers
15.8% 12.0%
Translated
Literary Fiction History
14.9% 14%
Sci Fi Fantasy
4.4% 9.1%
In the next -Personal and Professional Development- phase, genres such as Self Help, History and
General Non Fiction grow among readers preferences, but Fiction always wins: Literary Fiction,
Romance and Thrillers at the top.
Favourite genres: Over 46 y/o
General Non Fiction
6.6%
Self Help
7.2% Romance
13.2%
Business
1.6% Thrillers
Spanish Written 12.1%
Literary Fiction
16.4%
Translated
History
Literary Fiction 16.6%
17.0%
Fantasy
Sci Fi 6.1%
3.2%
Lastly, in their Maturity stage, when women recover more time for themselves (their children are grown
ups, and demand less of their time, while their experience at work provide more control over their own
time), their interest in History reaches a peak, and Literary Fiction is without a doubt their favourite genre.
Fantasy is less read than Self Help, and Romance stays, as always, as a favourite genre.
• 15QUE LEEN PART TWO
2.3. How Much do They Read Per Month and Age?
Younger readers from 18 to 25 read more frequently than any other age group, usually 4 to 5 books per month.
This dedication to reading also appears within older ones, over 46, but with less intensity. Women between 36 to
45 years old read less than the rest, just 1 or 2 books each month.
1000
750
500
250
0
18 to 25 26 to 35 36 to 45 Over 46
y/o y/o y/o y/o
Less than 1 book 1 book 2 books 3 books 4 books 5 books
• 16QUE LEEN PART TWO
2.4. Who Recommends Them Books in each Age Group?
An overwhelming majority of 83% of Argentine women between 18 to 25 search information online in order to
decide their next read. They use Google search; go to recommendation websites, follow an author in social media
(a remarkable 20%) and read blogs. Older women don’t use the internet as much as the younger ones, but it still
remains the most important information source. This, from 26 to 35 their online searches comes down to 77%;
between 36 to 45 to 73% and over 46 years to 63%. The difference between younger and older readers is that the
last ones still listen to the recommendation of friends and family. In all cases the bookseller’s opinion has become
the least important.
Who recommends them? 18 to 25 y/o Who recommends them? 26 to 35 y/o
Friend or family Friend or family
Google search
10.3% 15.2%
21.4%
Bookseller
Google search 6.5% Bookseller
23.8%
8.1%
Blogs
18.1% Follow the author
on social media Blogs
Follow the author
Recommendation 15.6%
on social media 21.2%
websites
20.6% Recommendarion
20.7%
websites
18.5%
Who recommends them? 36 to 45 y/o Who recommends them? Over 46 y/o
Google search
Google Friend or family
18.4%
Search 16.4% Friend or family
20.3% 19.9%
Bookseller Follow the author
Follow the author 9.6% on social media Bookseller
on social media 10.8%
15.2%
19.5%
Blogs
Blogs
14.8% Recommendation
Recommendation 14.0%
websites
websites
19.4% 21.7%
• 17QUE LEEN PART TWO
2.5. When Do They Read According to Age?
In the next 4 charts we can see almost no difference regarding the occasion when women prefer to read. They
are slightly different, younger women read while they are on transports, and older ones while they are on holidays.
Weekends and Before Bedtime are the favourite times to read, no matter the age group.
When do They Read?
18 to 25 y/o 26 to 35 y/o
On Transports
Weekends On Transport Weekends 11.9%
23.6% 9.2% 22.2%
Waiting Rooms Waiting Rooms
15.4% 13.5%
Before Bedtime Before Bedtime
22.6% Holidays 24.1%
Holidays
29.4%
28.3%
36 to 45 y/o Over 46 y/o
On Transports On Transports
Weekends 9.3% Weekends 7.4%
23.2% 24.5%
Waiting Rooms
Waiting Rooms
13.9%
13.8%
Before Bedtime
Before Bedtime Holidays
23.1% Holidays
23.1% 31.1%
30.6%
2.6. Suggested Price for Books According to Age
No matter the age, the average price that women were willing to pay -in february-march 2019- for a
NOVEL OF 350-400 PAGES was ARS 485. At that moment, the actual average retail price was ARS 670.
• 18QUE LEEN APPENDIX
3. APPENDIX: FEATURED COMMENTS
In the “Women Readers Survey”, we added a final optional section, where women could add any comments or
ideas they wanted. Over 400 shared their thoughts, and we believe that each comment shed some light regarding
the importance of reading for Argentine women, and they represent they voices. Below, we share a selection of
them.
I believe that if someone says “Why I read quite a lot at Wattpad, even books that now
reading the book if you can see the are published, that unfortunately I can’t afford. The
movie?” , it means she or he has never stories created there are unique, and I will always be
read a book. grateful to be a part of that community.
-Guadalupe, CABA -Milagros, Bs. As.
I am a voracious reader. I started buying more The problem of living far from the big cities is
books after my retirement. My library ran out of that many times the bookstores are not physically
space because I never give away my books, so I located where we live. We have to get in touch
bought an e-reader and started reading ebooks. with booksellers and wait for them to get the
I have downloaded thousands. Now I switch books that we want to read. Once I had to wait
between printed books and e-pubs. I am really over 2 months for a book and had forgotten about
happy about it. it when it finally reached by home.
-Maria, Cordoba. -Noelia, Santiago del Estero.
Books have saved my life.
-Eloisa, Entre Rios
I buy a lot of books at fairs, specially I love the experience of browsing books in a
of indie publishers. I also wait for bookstore. I believe that this is the same experience
the publisher’s newsletter and follow other women have when they go shopping. I have
them on social media to learn about a great time losing myself between books. Most of
their upcoming books. the time I buy another book on top of the one I was
-Lucia, Bs. As. looking for. I love bookstores.
-Veronica, CABA.
• 19For further questions or comments,
please contact:
Trini Vergara
trinivergaracruz@gmail.com
Lucila Quintana
lucila.quintana@gmail.com
www.entreditores.net
QUE LEEN
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