Annual revenues from eBooks delivered to portable devices will to $9.7bn by 2016, more than triple the $3.2bn figure for 2011, according to the latest study from Juniper Research. The growth will be fuelled by continued strong growth in the dedicated eReader market, allied to an upsurge in usage across Tablet devices.

The report, Mobile Publishing: eBooks, eMagazines & eNewspapers for Smart Devices, found that the increasing demand for Tablets means that these devices will account for nearly 30 per cent of all eBook downloads by 2016. In addition to the higher rate of Tablet penetration, the report notes that eBook access on these devices has already been boosted by the launch of leading brand bookstore applications, such as Apples iBookStore and Amazons Kindle.

While mobile handsets currently account for the largest share of eBook downloads, the majority of these are comprised by the Japanese manga market. Elsewhere, smartphones are not – and are unlikely to become – a primary reading device, says Juniper. However, storefront operators are increasingly seeking to enable synchronised eBook content across multiple devices, thereby allowing users to continue reading text on their smartphone when their eReader/Tablet is unavailable.

While the transition to eCommerce and to digital content delivery has demonstrably had a negative impact on traditional bricks and mortar retailers, the report observed larger bookstore chains increasingly seeking to marry their digital and physical activities.

“The Barnes & Noble model has been to use its own brand eReader – and its Tablet application – to act as a bridge between online and in-store purchases,” notes report author, Dr Windsor Holden. “The other chains are picking up on that, launching their own devices, offering digital coupons to be redeemed in-store, reinforcing the relationship with the consumer.”

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