Industry Research and Information
At ECPA, information and research are key components to our strategic plan to serve our industry and to provide our members with the knowledge they need to understand industry trends and determine key operational benchmarks for their publishing business. Here is a list of this year’s reports:
ECPA Book Category Reports
Utilizing Bowker's Pubtrack Consumer and Pubtrack Christian databases, ECPA is also offering subscriptions to quarterly category-level reports focusing on both consumer buying behaviors and retail sales activity. Each report will focus on one of the following eight book categories:
- Autobiography & Biography
- Bibles
- Biblical Studies & Reference
- Christian Fiction
- Christian Life
- Diet & Health
- Kids
- Pentecostal & Charismatic
Each category is offered as an individual subscription and will deliver one report each quarter. Reports will include updated consumer information relative to Christian book purchasing as well as up-to-the-minute trends, market share and bestseller reports utilizing retail sales data. Subscriptions are $1000 per category/per year and are only available to ECPA member publishers. Current Pubtrack Christian subscribers can pick up to three categories at no cost and will receive a 25% discount off additional categories. Pubtrack Christian subscribers should contact Michael Covington to place their order. Order Now -- for non-Pubtrack subscribers
2008 ECPA Consumer Demographics & Buying Behaviors Annual Report
Based on comprehensive consumer data representing survey results from more than 30,000 book buyers in 2008, ECPA has made available its first ever Annual Report. This report features an incredible wealth of information exclusively focusing on Christian books and Bibles across core channels and outlets including:
- Christian book consumer demographics.
- Christian customer segmentation and their Christian book buying behavior.
- Christian book outlet breakdowns and analysis.
- Purchase analytics (average units per occasion, $$ spent per occasion, frequency by outlet, more).
- Book awareness (How did you hear about the book that you bought) by outlet
- Purchase activity (planned vs. impulse purchase).
- Expert commentary and thought-provoking questions for publishers to ask from publishing consultant Jim Seybert.
2008 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics & Buying Behaviors Annual Report
Co-published by Bowker Pubtrack and Publishers Weekly, this is the publishing industry’s first complete consumer-based analysis integrating channel, motivation, and category analysis of book buyers in the US, giving you the information you need to answer the critical who, what, where, why and how of today’s consumer with detailed analysis focusing on:
- Book data (including binding preference & actual selling price).
- Demographics (broken down by age, gender, and income of buyers).
- Psychographics (providing data on reason for purchase, advertising awareness, and impulse vs. planned).
- Genre Category (following BISAC categories with Fiction and Non Fiction Breakdowns).
- Channel (complete analysis of all channels of distribution - including those not tracked by traditional POS data).
- 2008 Essential Facts: A great quick review of high level consumer activities from 2008.
- 2008 Bowker Book Production Statistics: The industry’s annual report on yearly book production.
- 2009 Trends: A peek into the growing trends of e-books and e-book devices for digital delivery of book content, as well as the growth of social networks for discovery and interaction with this content.
Previous Reports Include:
Marketing Survey Report 2007
ECPA’s first-ever comprehensive member-based Marketing Survey Report is now available. The purpose behind this survey is to gather information from ECPA member publishers regarding their marketing practices as well as to provide back to those members a meaningful way to look at the data that will help them to determine if their companies are on the right track with their budgeted marketing resources.
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Order Fulfillment & Distribution Report 2006-2007
The study was commissioned through ECPA member focus groups who requested greater knowledge in this area. Fourteen publishers participated in the survey, representing a healthy cross-section of company size and business processes. The survey, conducted during the fourth quarter of 2006, comprehensively covers:
- Lead Times (Time from order origination to departure from the warehouse)
- Early Payment Discount Practices
- Means of Delivery
- Shipping Materials
- Order Picking and Packing Processes
- E-Commerce Document Implementation
- Returns Percentages
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Financial & Sales Operating Performance Report 2005
The report breaks down comparative financial ratios and statistics in several different ways: by participants overall, by company sales volume size, by sales focus related to books, and by corporate structure (non-profits and for-profits), including a special grouping of high profit firms. In-depth analysis of data is presented in a user-friendly format with graphs and charts.
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Salary and Benefits Survey 2004
This report provides ECPA member publishers with invaluable information related to compensation levels for many departments and positions within your publishing house. Similar to the Financial & Sales Operating Performance Report, the report breaks down comparative salary and benefit ratios and statistics in several different ways: by participants overall, by company sales volume size, and by corporate structure (non-profits and for-profits), including a special grouping of high profit firms. This is an indispensable report for your Human Resources Department.
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