Amazon has announced that sales of digital books for its e-reader, the kindle has outstripped US sales of hardbacks on its website for the first time.
Amazon has sold 143 digital books for every 100 hardbacks sold over last 3 months.
Does this spell the end of the musty old book shop? Well it appears not. The growth of ebooks is not damaging sales of physical books. According to the Association of American Publishers, hardback sales are still growing in the US, up 22% this year.
The US market is 2 to 3 years ahead of UK where digital books are still small. The kindle has only been available here since October and it still has to be shipped from US. The books catalogue is available only through the US site and the books are priced in dollars. That said the US market dynamics must be a sign of things to come here.
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