The growth in book sales was imperceptible during the 2020 lockdown, but on the other hand, 41% of 18-34 year olds read books, e-books or listened to audiobooks more than in the past, and 70% has listened to podcasts, a very high percentage which, considering all age groups, drops to 44%. This is what emerges from the Intesa Sanpaolo report on cultural consumption in times of Covid and on the state of publishing, presented on the occasion of an event organized in collaboration with BookCity and Aie, the Italian association of publishers. The study also reveals a great desire, once the pandemic is over, to return to a physical use of culture: 50% of the interviewees will prefer live attendance; 25% will opt for a hybrid formula and only 9% will remain exclusively online.
In the past months, the report claims, digital has allowed many Italians to experience the use of online events: concerts (64% attended), artistic-cultural events (64%), conferences (61%), theatrical works (59%), book presentations (57%) and visiting exhibitions (62%). The new users have therefore surpassed those who were previously accustomed to the culture. Even reading has found more space, especially in the younger age groups: overall, as mentioned, 41% have read books, e-books or listened to audiobooks to a greater extent than in the past.
A significant role of facilitator of cultural consumption has been played by podcast, which are listened to by 44% of the interviewees, a figure that rises to 70% among the youngest (age group 18/34). Even with the return to full mobility, you will continue to listen to them because they are "short but interesting", accessible anywhere (43%), "I can listen to them while I do something else" (47%). Furthermore, listening to podcasts acts as a driving force for further culture and exchange: in fact, 85% of those interviewed are inclined to deepen the topics they have heard, 75% tend to promote sharing with family, friends, colleagues, the 69% look for and buy books that talk about the topic they are listening to.
"The research carried out by Intesa Sanpaolo with Ipsos - comments Fabrizio Paschina, Intesa Sanpaolo Executive Director of Communication and Image - clearly indicates that digital, after the initial boom linked to the lockdown, is now a fully-fledged extraordinary opportunity to access the cultural offer , because it allows you to expand the audience to new users and reach even the youngest".
As regards the book, held and even grew, albeit by only 0,3% in 2020 as regards sales of print books in trade channels (independent and chain bookstores, online bookstores and large-scale distribution), while ebooks and audiobooks grew by 43%. Given the difficulties of physical libraries, online sales were the driving force, as also demonstrated by the different composition of publishers' turnover: in 2019, 45% of these had more than 21% of their turnover from online sales; by the end of 2020, the percentage had risen to 54%. The growth also continued in 2021: from January to May, sales amounted to 591 million euros, up 47% on 2020 and 19% on 2019. One in four readers increased their book purchases in 2020 .
Interesting to see the reasons for this question of culture and reading. 31% of readers (the reference universe is that of 15-75 year olds) declare that they read more because they wanted to spend more time reading (53%), because they want to articulate their cultural diet beyond TV series (22% ), but above all because he has discovered an offer and new proposals. They read more because they had started buying from online bookstores and found titles and authors they didn't find or knew before (14%), because publishers are intercepting their needs of reading (13%), to explore current issues (5%), because they are creating a network of relationships outside social networks (9%), because they have discovered ebooks, which have become a permanent part of their reading diet (9%).
