The first survey of French audiobook users this year shows a significant increase in audiobook take-up compared to a year ago.
According to the OpinionWay survey, conducted between 30 January 30 and 19 February,14% of French citizens aged 15 and over have listened to an audiobook while a further 7% intend to. Younger booklovers lead the charge, with 21% of 15-24 year olds enjoying audiobooks, and a slight decline in interest as the older generations are included. Just 15% of 34-49 year olds, for example, listened to audiobooks.
Smartphones were the vehicle of choice, with 43% using a smartphone to listen to digital audio. Tablets followed with 33%. With commuting the preferred opportunity for audiobook listening, those devices are ideally suited.
But laptops weren’t that far behind, at 31%, and 10% were listening to audio on smartspeakers.
Significantly, 29% of audiobook listeners also read 20 or more print books a year, compared to just 22% for non-audiobook readers.
There’s no breakdown by brand outlet for where French audiobook lovers shop, but the survey tells us 34% buy digital audio, 30% head for the library, 17% borrow from friends, while 14% still use physical audio.
In total, 59% of users had already purchased an audiobook, whether physical or digital, while 44% of users have borrowed a book in the library.
58% prefer fiction, with crime leading the way.
Via Actuallitté.
The full report, short and sweet as it is, can be found on Scribd here.
For context, France is a country of 65 million, with 60 million online, making it the 15th largest country in the world by internet users.