Amazon’s Global Dominance: E-Books, E-Readers, and the Future of Digital Publishing

• Market Leadership: Amazon dominates the global e-book market with a 68% market share, rising to 83% when Kindle Unlimited is included. In the U.S., Amazon controls 67% of digital book sales.

• Revenue: E-books contribute 21% of Amazon’s total book sales revenue and 36% of all book sales. Amazon’s global book sales revenue totals $28 billion annually, including 300 million printed books sold.
• Content Availability: Globally, there are 44 million e-books on Amazon, with 20 million in the U.S.. Publishers and authors release 7,500 new e-books daily.
• Regional Insights: The UK is the second-largest e-book market, where e-books account for 34% of all book sales, and Amazon UK captures 87.9% of this market.


Kindle and E-Reader Insights
• Market Share: 70% of e-readers sold globally are Amazon Kindles.
• Demographics: E-reader ownership in the U.S. skews older:
• 17%: Ages 30–49.
• 14%: Ages 50–64.
• 11%: Ages 18–29.
• Declining Market: E-reader sales are projected to drop from $396.4 million (2021) to $204.7 million (2027), signaling a declining market.


Genre and Subscription Trends
• Popular Genres:
• Contemporary Romance: Most competitive category on Kindle.
• Memoirs & Biographies: Best-selling genres in 2022.
• Kindle Unlimited: Over 3 million subscribers, reinforcing Amazon’s grip on digital book consumption.


Audiobooks and Print
• Amazon controls 41% of the audiobook market.
• Books remain Amazon’s most popular product category, with 57.2 million sales.


Source: Amazon is the dominant player in Ebook Sales - Good e-Reader