The UK has a national obsession with reading, but 2025’s first quarter saw a 2.3% dip in print book sales. This might be easily explained by inflation. There was only a 0.3% drop in revenue. Book selling prices have increased by 2%, but do rising book prices really explain the trend?
Global Book Sales Are Lagging
In the first half of 2025, US print book sales declined by 1.6%. France’s book purchases are ailing, too. New Zealand’s numbers are even more startling. The country has endured a decline of 9.3% since 2024. Reading seems to have slumped on a global scale. Some readers say they’ve become increasingly time-poor, but as attention spans decline, reading does as well.
Can Publishers Overcome the Slump?
Book printers Cirencester and the rest of the UK might need to reawaken the UK’s literary passions if they’re to recapture their readers’ attention. Publishers like wheatleyprinters.co.uk/printing-services/marketing-materials/book-printers/cirencester/ are finding new ways to achieve that. By offering on-demand printing, they’re allowing professional publishers to take risks on new authors and niche genres. This widens the market and appeals to more readers.
Some Britons Aren’t Reading at All
A 2025 Guardian article reported that 40% of Brits haven’t read a book in at least a year. Only 22% had made it through one to five books over the survey period.
To outlast the slump, publishers will have to become more broadly relevant, and traditional printing simply can’t deliver the goods. Print-on-demand will make the sector more bulletproof than ever before.
