Codex Group: 21% of Book Shoppers Now Own Dedicated eReader or Tablet - And These Numbers are pre-Christmas

Publishers Weekly: "The launch of the iPad and price cuts to the Kindle resulted in a significant increase in the number of digital reading devices owned by consumers between June and November, with 21% of book shoppers now owning a dedicated e-reader or tablet. The finding is part of the Codex Group's most recent national book shopper survey, which polled 6,250 book buyers on various aspects of their book-buying habits. Codex estimated that the introduction of the $139 Kindle in July helped to spur sales of 800,000 units between June and mid-November, with total units sold estimated at 2.7 million. The growth in Kindle unit sales drove overall e-reader penetration among book shoppers to 14% in November, and penetration levels could reach 22% by mid-2011, Codex predicted. The forecast is based on a dramatic increase in the number of book buyers stating they plan to buy a digital reading device this year."