One-Fifth of Readers Visit Pub/Author Sites

-- Publishers Weekly, 12/11/2006

A new survey conducted by the advertising firm Spier New York found that 18% of readers have been to a publisher's Web site, while 23% of readers polled have visited an author's site. The survey, based on a sample of 813 readers, did not ask if readers bought a book from either site. Not surprisingly, the younger the reader, the more likely that person visited the Web. The survey found that 35% of readers under age 35 had visited an author's Web site and 21% of respondents in that age bracket had been to a publisher's site.

The Spier survey also found that 50% of those asked said they had purchased a book as a gift within the past year. Twenty-eight percent bought a book online as a gift online, while 89% said they bought a book at a retailer. "What these numbers show is that consumers continue to feel that books are one gift that has universal appeal," said Tom McCartin, president of Spier New York. According to the survey, 86% of those who purchased a book as a present bought at least two books.