Global book market revenues up in 2023, thanks to rising prices

The new book market report from GfK Entertainment and Nielsen BookData provides an unparalleled view of the global market.

Earlier this year, GfK and NIQ merged to become the world’s preeminent consumer intelligence company. As a result, data from both GfK Entertainment, a subsidiary of GfK, and Nielsen BookData, a subsidiary of NIQ, has combined to give an unparalleled view of the global book market. Their latest book market report shows across 16 countries an increase in turnover for the majority.

The global book market recorded a rise in revenues in many markets in the first eight months of 2023, but this was accompanied by much higher prices. According to the 16-country analysis, the gains ranged from single figures in economically strong sales territories such as France (+1.3%) and the UK (+1.8%) to considerable increases in the emerging book markets of India (+8.7%) and Mexico (+10%). Revenues were only down in four countries, including Australia (-1.9%) and South Africa (-0.2%). 

Falling unit sales in three-quarters of the countries surveyed 

Average prices for books increased in the Belgium region of Flanders (+8.7%), South Africa (+7.6%), Brazil (+6.1%) and the UK (+5.7%) most noticeably between January and August 2023, but the actual quantity sold went down in three-quarters of the regions surveyed. Here, too, countries such as India (+6.4% in volume) and Mexico (+4.2% in volume) were the exception. The study also found that fiction largely outperformed non-fiction or “how-to” titles, with fiction books generating a higher revenue growth in ten of the 16 countries. 

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