Posted in: Comics | Tagged: comixology, digital comics, NYCC, Reader Survey

ComiXology Shares Results From Reader Survey – Updated

Published Thu, 10 Oct 2013 16:00:19 -0500

Last updated Thu, 10 Oct 2013 23:19:18 -0500

Mike Hogan writes for Bleeding Cool:

Right in time for New York Comic Con, comiXology has released partial results from their recent reader survey.

Released through an infographic (found below), the more interesting statistics showcase customer spending habits. The survey shows the average spend per reader is $100 per year. Depending on individual comic cost, this only comes out to one or two comics for every two weeks. A quarter of respondents spend an average of $400 or more per year on digital comics, averaging about $7.69 or 2-3 comics per week.

Four out of ten respondents said they hide how much they spend on digital comics from their significant other. Ten percent say they would be 'killed' if they shared that number with their partner.

One comiXology customer spent $63,129 on digital comics ~~in a year~~ (That qualifier was incorrect. comiXology is not releasing any qualifier to that data point other than 'most spent.') , roughly the median salary for a New York City public school teacher. That number may seem high, but it doesn't touch the comics market output per year. In context, if one person were to buy every new comic and graphic novel release from Diamond Distributors next week, that person would spend nearly $2,700.

Unlike print comics, market statistics of digital comics sales haven't been made available to the public. DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee recently revealed his company has experienced a triple-digit growth in digital since 2011's launch of the New 52.

The survey also includes data about readers' other hobbies, including how often they exercise and play video games.

One statistic sure to be repeated by digital market proponents comes from the bottom of the graphic. Only one quarter of respondents admitted to illegally downloading digital comics. That group, according to comiXology, has dropped 25% since last year.

The survey, implemented over the last few months, shows readers overwhelmingly read comics on a tablet. An infographic from comiXology shows almost half (44%) of readers use a computer to read digital comics, while a third (36%) read on a phone.

Last month, comiXology announced the company had surpassed 200 million downloads, just one year after celebrating the 100 million mark.

No other data was available from comiXology, although a recent TechHive piece revealed that female readers make up 20 percent of the digital comics market. That market has quadrupled since comiXology's launch in 2007.