'Middle-aged most prolific e-readers' says Kobo

Uptake in digital reading is being driven by middle-aged people, a new study by Kobo has found.

The Canada-based e-reading company has released a report on digital reading habits, which has found that over three-quarters of the most prolific digital readers - meaning those who read for more than 30 minutes a day- are aged 45 and above. Of those people, the largest single group (30%) comprised of those aged 55 to 64 "making e-reading the first technological revolution being driven by 45 and older, rather than younger generations," the company said. 

The report also found that 75% of the most prolific e-readers are women, with romance the best-selling genre, accounting for more than twice the number of units as the next best-selling category - fiction. On average, prolific readers read romance for almost 90 minutes daily, Kobo said. 

“These book-buyers, the ones who have put reading at the centre of their lives, are the engine that drives the industry,” said Michael Tamblyn, c.e.o of Kobo. “So our understanding of who the most prolific readers are, how they read and what they are reading shapes not just our business but where Kobo invests and builds for future growth. As we continue to meld algorithms and machine learning with passionate book experts, we get better and better at finding a reader’s next perfect book, which is great for readers, authors and publishers alike.”

Kobo said the report was compiled from a number of sources, including global reading and purchasing aggregate statistics based on customer use of devices, apps, and web store analytics, global surveys of readers conducted by UK-based Verve, a specialist in community panels for research, surveys by Kobo and competitor customers and direct interviews with readers.