Enrico Turrin is the Deputy Director of the European Federation of Publishers and each year presents the data of the book market in Europe during the previous year. In Readmagine 24 Turrin explained a very interesting overview of the European Book Market, completed by his remarks and explanations that provided a very interesting group of insights.
Turrin inspired debates and conversations during the rest of the conference for he is perceived as a knowledgeable and experienced analyst with a long experience dealing with market data.
You can follow in this video the whole presentation and see the graphs. Here is a summary of the main information in the form of headlines.
Net Publisher Turnover
– 2023 Estimate: €24.4 billion
– Peak Comparison: Almost back to the 2007 peak of €24.5 billion
– 2008 Financial Crisis Impact: Significant stagnation followed the crisis
– COVID Impact: Minimal overall, with only a 1% turnover loss by the end of 2020
Post-COVID Recovery
– 2021: Significant rebound with the largest turnover increase in over 20 years
– 2022 and 2023: Small increases, mainly due to inflation rather than volume
Real Terms vs. Nominal Terms
– Inflation Adjustment: Nominal turnover may be back to 2007 levels, but not in real terms
Title Production and Sales
– New Titles: Nearly 600,000 new titles annually, with a slight decline since the COVID-19 peak
– Books Sold in 2022: Approximately 2.5 billion
– Title Availability: Around 14 million different titles in bookstores, including over 3 million digital and audio
Market Breakdown by Category
– Children’s Books: Resilient, representing about 15% of the market
– Sales Channels:
– Physical Bookstores: Sales recovering to over 45% of the total after a dip during COVID
– Online Sales: Peaked at nearly 29% during COVID, now around 26%
Format Distribution
– Print: Dominates with 84% of income
– Digital E-books: Close to 13%
– Audiobooks: Growing rapidly, now at 3.2%
Price Trends
– Book Prices vs. Inflation: Book prices have increased less than general inflation over the past 20 years (35% vs. 60%)
Geographic Insights
– Market Trends in 2023 Overall, a modest 2.3% increase in turnover driven by price increases rather than volume
– Regional Differences:
– Nordics: Digital sales growth outpacing print
– Western Europe: More stable with slight growth
2024 Outlook
– Q1 Trends: Mixed results with minor growth or decline, influenced by price dynamics
– Full-Year Predictions: Key insights will emerge after summer and Christmas sales periods
Final Thoughts
– Diverse and Resilient Market: Despite challenges, the European book market remains robust with significant contributions to cultural diversity and adaptation to changing consumer behaviors.
Enrico Turrin got a degree in Economics at the University Luigi Bocconi in Milan in 2000 and a master’s degree in International Affairs at the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), Milan, in 2001. After internships at the Italian Embassy in Madrid and at the United Nation’s Global Programme against Money Laundering in Vienna, in 2002 he became Project Manager in the Training Area at ISPI and lecturer of International Organisations. From 2005 to 2008 he worked as an external expert and lecturer for ISPI and for a project by the Italian Foreign Ministry in the field of Cooperation. In 2008 he was hired as an economist by FEP, where he has been involved in the ARROW, ARROW plus, TISP and Ambrosia projects, and is currently working in the Aldus network and in the ASAP project. He is Deputy Director of FEP since 2012.
