Consumers are willing to pay for books, magazines and newspapers on tablets and e-readers, but only if the price is right - and the price currently being charged by some publishers is too high, consumers said in a survey conducted by the Boston Consulting Group.
Consumers say they would pay between $2 and $4 for a magazine - many magazine publishers are currently charging $4.99 per issue - and between $5 and $10 for a monthly newspaper subscription. While the price consumers are willing to pay for digital newspapers is less than their print counterparts, the digital version is cheaper to produce, the research points out.
Consumers are willing to pay only $5 to $10 for digital books, which is less than what book publishers are targeting, writes MediaBuyerPlanner.
Freedom of Choice
The survey also suggests that consumers have a strong desire for freedom of choice when purchasing content, rather than being locked into a single source like the iTunes store. More than 80% of consumers interested in purchasing an e-reader or tablet said they would buy more content if multiple retailers were available. More than 80% of those who plan to purchase an e-reader over the next three years said they would use it to read the online versions of magazines and newspapers.
Popularity on the Rise
The study indicates that e-readers and tablets will become wildly popular and successful consumer devices in coming years. Within the next year, 28% of all respondents - and 51% of those familiar with the devices - plan to purchase an e-reader or tablet. Within three years, 49% of all respondents - 73% of those familiar with the devices - plan a purchase. If this happens, e-readers and tablets could become established consumer products, alongside TVs, PCs, and mobile handsets such as the BlackBerry and iPhone. They could also inject fresh hope into the publishing industry, which is struggling to generate online revenues, Boston Consulting Group predicts.
Multipurpose Device Price Needs to Decline
“The survey suggests that e-readers and tablets are not a niche product for early adopters but could become the MP3 players of this decade. Grandmothers will soon be carrying them around,” says John Rose, the global leader of BCG’s Media practice.
Consumers clearly want to do more than just read with these devices, according to the survey. Globally, 66% of respondents would prefer to buy a multipurpose device, whereas only 24% prefer a single-function device, such as the Kindle. The remainder said they were undecided.
However, mass acceptance of e-readers and tablets is not guaranteed unless prices drop dramatically. In the United States, consumers are only willing to spend up to $200 for a multipurpose device, far below the $499 entry price of the iPad.
