Children's audiobooks double in popularity

Audiobooks have doubled in popularity with children in the last year, according to figures released by The Insight People.

Company c.p.o. Jonathan Watson shared the figures at The Bookseller’s Children’s Conference from report “Leisure Measure”.

The report found as ownership of smart speakers by children has increased twofold since January 2018, audiobook popularity has increased by 138%.

Girls aged seven to 12 are most likely to listen to audiobooks, while overall 34% of children listen to audiobooks for 15 minutes a week.

Watson said: “Kids are likely to enjoy listening to audiobooks for a number of reasons. Firstly, audiobooks give kids the ability to multitask while listening to their favourite titles. Also, there is a ‘snackable’ element to audio books, meaning kids are switch on and off as and when they please, on the go.

"Given the current trend of audiobooks, 2020 could see interactive audiobooks, supported by systems such as Alexa, become a major trend."

The report warns that the download process is a major “discoverability” barrier for audiobooks  - with children more likely to browse for titles in a book shop than use their parents smartphone to search for new books.

The report also found children aged three to 12 spend 30 hours and 28 minutes a month reading – with paperback being the most popular platform to read (37%), followed by hardbacks (32%).