The Romance Book Buyer
A 2011 romance book consumer survey revealed that 91 percent of romance book buyers are women, majority fall into the 30 to 54 age group, and over half of consumers hail from the South or Midwest.
A 2011 romance book consumer survey sponsored by the Romance Writers of America showed the following:
- Romance book buyers divide largely along gender lines: 91% of romance book buyers are women, and only 9% are men.
- The majority of U.S. romance book buyers fall into the 30 to 54 age group.
- The weighted mean annual income of a romance book buyer who buys only print books is $58,000, but romance e-book buyers have a mean annual income of $70,000.
- More than half of the respondents reported living with a spouse or significant other.
- The top factor when deciding to buy a romance is the story (46%); next is the author (23%).
- Half of the romance book buyers surveyed reported purchasing at least one new romance per month. The remainder purchased one every two to three months (22%) or less frequently.
Geographic distribution of romance readers in the United States can be broken down as follows:
- Northeast: 17%
- Midwest: 26%
- South: 38%
- West: 19%
Photo caption: Shumita at the beauty salon
Credit: Julie Moggan
Sources:
» Romance Writers of America.