'French BookScan needed', says Gallimard

Antoine Gallimard, president of the French Publishers Association (Syndicat National de l’Edition, SNE) and c.e.o. of Gallimard, has called for the creation of a Nielsen BookScan à la Française to remedy flaws in the sales data provided by market research firms GfK and Ipsos.
 
The problem with current French sales figures is that they are based on takings from 2,500 to 3,500 of the 15,000 outlets carrying books, and include online but not distance sales, he said in an interview in French trade weekly Livres Hebdo today (30th January). The result is a “significant gap” between SNE and survey figures, which in turn also diverge.
 
The surveys may provide “precious indicators of trends” for publishers, but the only really effective method of gathering statistics would be an instrument like BookScan, even though the cost would be high because of the dense retail network in France. The Culture Ministry’s ad hoc committee that is now working on proposals to help independent booksellers should take the matter up, Gallimard added.
 
The latest figures from GfK’s REC+ barometer show that printed books remain the most popular cultural product. Data for 2011 shows that only 19% of respondents had downloaded e-books, while 82% said they had bought printed versions. Respondents spent 10 hours and four minutes reading, books accounting for 54% of the time. Readers spent the most on their hobby, with an average of €100 during the year.
 
Last year only 3% said they owned an electronic reading device and 10% a tablet, but 11% and 24% said said they intended to buy one or the other this year.