• by Aaron Baar , August 7, 2009

The makers of electronic readers still have a ways to go in convincing the public that their devices are the libraries of the future.

According to a recent survey by The NPD Group, 40% of consumers were either only "somewhat interested" or "not interested at all" in owning one of these devices, such as Amazon's Kindle or the Sony Reader. Only 37% said they were "somewhat interested" or "very interested" in buying one.

Of the 40% who were not interested in owning an e-reader, 70% said they still prefer the look and feel of actual books. Other reasons included the devices' general inability to display pictures in color and the dearth of reading material other than books, such as newspapers and periodicals, says Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at NPD.

"[The market] faces some addressable challenges," Rubin tells Marketing Daily. "We're seeing consumers express demand for other types of content [beyond bestsellers], which are the core of these programs."

Another pocket of resistance is price, although Rubin notes that both Amazon and Sony have lowered their prices recently, and -- as with other electronic devices -- they will continue to drop as more companies produce similar devices. "It is a growing market, which will help bring down costs and increase content selection," Rubin says. "It's growing enough so that it's attracting other makers, and that's a good sign."

E-readers also hold other value for consumers. Of the 37% who said they were interested in owning a device, the biggest appeal was the ability to buy and store multiple books (as well as some magazines and newspapers). Consumers also said they liked the ability to download books from the Web instantaneously, and that e-readers are easier to carry than books, Rubin says.

Rubin notes some similarities between the e-readers and mp3 players in terms of widespread early acceptance. "It's worth noting that the iPod did get off to a rather slow start in its first year," he says. "There are parallels with the iPod, where many consumers said they preferred other details, such as liner notes and packaging, of the previous media."

However, unlike other technologies, the early adopters in the e-reader category tend to be affluent leisure readers, rather than young men. The tipping point for the e-readers, Rubin says, will likely come as they become more widespread among students. "Textbooks are likely the key to exploding past the leisure readers," Rubin says.