(Click here to read the Introduction, including background and methodology information.)
Approximately half of the LDS Book Reader Survey participants, or 53%, report buying at least 10 books (outside of textbooks) in a year. An additional 22% indicate they purchase 7 to 10 books per year. Only 9% say they buy one to three books per year. Male respondents were notably more likely than female respondents to reveal they only purchase one to three books in a year (21% vs. 7% of women).
As expected, the vast majority of book purchases among LDS church members are for personal use (92%); however, more than half of the respondents also say they most often purchase books for their children (58%). When combined with the proportion of respondents who report buying books for grandchildren a total of 62% buy books for children/grandchildren (NET responses).
In addition to asking for whom the books were purchased, respondents were also asked how many of their book purchases were for immediate family use. Half (50%) specify they buy seven or more books for their immediate family in a year’s time. Only 7% report none of the books they bought were for their family to use.
Immediate Family Book Purchases
None - 7%
1 to 3 - 20%
4 to 6 - 23%
7 to 10 - 19%
11 to 15 - 11%
Nine in ten of the LDS Book Reader Survey respondents report at least "a few" of the books they bought within the past year were associated with the Mormon faith (89%). Twenty-nine percent (29%) of the respondents agree it was "most" or "all" of the books they bought.
Next, survey participants were asked from which retailers they most frequently buy LDS-related books. The most common source respondents indicate they purchase LDS-related books from is Deseret Book. A total of 85% of the respondents said they buy from Deseret (60% storefront and 31% online). As the largest retailer of LDS books, this result was not unexpected.
In comparison, 43% of the respondents report they buy from Seagull Book and tape (38% storefront and 5% online). The only other retailers receiving a consensus of 7% or higher were Amazon (10%) and independent LDS bookstores (7%).
Deseret Book (NET) - 85%
[Storefront - 60%]
[Online - 31%]
Seagull Book and Tape (NET) - 43%
[Storefront - 38%]
[Online - 5%]
Amazon - 10%
Independent LDS Bookstores - 7%
Wal-mart - 3%
From author/publisher - 2%
Non-LDS Bookstores - 2%
Other - 9%
With the growing use of E-readers a question gauging interest in these high-tech devices was included in the LDS Book Reader Survey. Respondents were asked to rate their level of interest in E-readers using a scale of one (“not at all interested”) to five (“extremely interested”). Nearly one in four survey participants report their interest is high (23% rate four or five) while 34% say they are “not at all interested.” The average rating given (among those who gave a one to five rating) was 2.52.
For a written copy of the LDS Book Survey report (which includes additional data comparisons by gender), email me or leave a comment with your e-mail address.
Great info! May I ask how many respondents there were? ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Sheralyn, Great question! There were 408 respondents in total, but some were filtered out because they were not LDS. Also, not everyone answered every question. But you can see sample sizes on each graph (notation in bottom left hand corner reading n=400); 'n' is the mathematical symbol meaning sample size or number of respondents. Additional information about the respondents is discussed in the introduction (click on the link at the top of the post). Thx, Rebecca
ReplyDeleteRebecca,
ReplyDeleteI do market research for Deseret Book and really like this survey. I don't know if you'd mind because I work for one of the companies asked about, but I'd love a written copy of your findings to show our director of market research. You can contact me at sbarth at-sign deseretbook.com. Thanks!