With audiobooks growing in popularity in recent years, they are quickly becoming one of the main platforms for book consumption. Print books still generate the majority of total book sales, so audiobooks are not here to drive away your local bookstore, but the new, steadily growing format has expanded the market for storytelling and offers an accessible, convenient supplement to both avid readers and novices.
According to a 2011 survey from Pew Research Center, just 11% of U.S. adults said they listened to an audiobook in the past year; that percentage has gone up to 26% as of 2025. Conversely, the percentage that reads print books in the past year has decreased from 72% to 64% over the same amount of time. Although the audio format has not quite caught up to the print format yet, the trend seems to be growing upward. Big e-commerce businesses like Amazon and Apple profit almost directly from digital audiobook sales, while independent bookstores generally share their revenue with platforms like Libro.fm. Physical bookstores face competition within e-commerce—independent of audiobook consumption—so they really do not have to worry much about this new technology still on the rise.
In fact, audiobooks expand and encourage reading rather than replace it. They allow people to listen to books on the way to work, at the gym, or at any other moment of free time. They mix perfectly with podcasts, which are also on the rise, and they give listeners something fun and different to focus on throughout their day. Even people who would not normally read books—or those who are visually impaired—enjoy the choice of audio and often discover new reads through sites like Apple Books, Audible, and Spotify.
The growing audiobook market can greatly benefit small businesses. For example, the above-mentioned platform Libro.fm caters to local bookstores and helps physical stores stay active in streaming. Small bookstore owners can take steps to build and maintain a strong presence in the digital economy, such as updating their website and offering multiple purchasing options. Stores should also provide consumers with different types of books through an omnichannel of print books, e-books, and audiobooks. People should be able to choose how they want to experience a book, and methods like audiobooks are just one of the ways that are gaining momentum. People of all ages still support bookstores and print books are nowhere near out of style.
