Are Kindle books really overtaking print in the UK

Amazon.co.uk customers are buying more Kindle books than print books, both hardback and paperbacks, claimed a recent press release. The news was received with some scepticism amongst those in the know. The Bookseller reports that the reality is that we are still way off this tipping point. Even in the US, where Amazon passed the Kindle milestone more than a year ago, print books still outsell print books. And to a massive extent. Digital revenue is about 25% of total sales.

The retail giant released the statistic to mark the second anniversary of its e-reader, the Kindle, in the UK, securing widespread national media coverage with the announcement.

Amazon.co.uk said that so far in 2012, for every 100 print books sold on the site, it has sold 114 Kindle books, excluding free Kindle books. In the UK, Kindle readers buy four times the number of books they did before owning a Kindle.