Ebooks by the numbers...

Some of the interesting stats in this month's Book Business Magazine:

• A study by Bain & Co. study concluded that the publishing industry will make a smoother transition to digital than the music industry did. It found that most digital readers are willing to pay for their digital content, perhaps discounting fears around content piracy. The study predicted that approximately 15-25 percent of book sales would be in digital formats by 2014, which is consistent with other projections in narrower college store market as well.
• Roughly 64% of publishers are now offering content in e-book or other digital formats, up 11% from the prior year according to a study by Aptara. However, nearly two thirds of those publishers do not know how to calculate the ROI of their e-book initiatives. E-reader/content compatibility is ranked as the top challenge for publishers.
• Finally, mobile advertising is expected to grow past US$2B this year, with Google currently controlling roughly 59% of that space.

The question for retailers regarding whether or not digital matters seems to be less of the question these days. Just as sales are now moving beyond just being online, to being online and mobile. This, of course, has implications for institutions, students, and others as content begins to not only shift to digital, but also shift to increasingly mobile platforms.