Rakuten Books Announces the Results of a Survey on Book Purchase Locations Ahead of Autumn’s Reading Season Rakuten Group, Inc. Press Release: September 18, 2025 To Members of the Media Rakuten Books releases results of survey on where to buy books ahead of autumn’s reading season – We will be holding a social media campaign where you can win a “Book Card Net Gift,” and we have also decided to exhibit at “KYOTO BOOK PARK 2025” – Rakuten Books, an online bookstore operated by Rakuten Group, Inc.
(hereinafter “Rakuten”), has announced the results of a survey on where to buy books conducted among 10,000 Rakuten Books users ahead of the autumn reading season.
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“Manga/Comics,” “Novels,” and “Hobbies/Culture.” ■□ Survey Results Summary □■ ■ Approximately 60% of respondents said they “usually switch” between online and brick-and-mortar bookstores! The most common reasons for switching are “depending on the urgency of the need to obtain the book” and “due to points or campaigns.” When asked “Do you usually switch between online and brick-and-mortar bookstores?” users who purchased books on Rakuten Books were asked, “Do you usually switch between online and brick-and-mortar bookstores?”, approximately 60% answered “Yes.” When asked “Why do you switch between online and brick-and-mortar bookstores?”, the top answers were “depending on the urgency of the need to obtain the book” (46.7%), “due to points or campaigns” (36.4%), and “due to stock availability” (36.4%). Additionally, some people answered “it depends on the genre of the book” (29.4%), indicating that people switch between online and brick-and-mortar bookstores for various reasons and needs.
Furthermore, when asked, “When purchasing a book, do you have any reservations about buying it online without seeing the actual book?”, approximately 70% answered “no reservations at all” or “almost no reservations,” indicating that online book sales are accepted by many users.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/5889/2495/5889-2495-e7435100f84a84face73d62df4027dff-650×340.png ■ The most common reasons for using different bookstores are “because you can earn and use points” for online bookstores, “because you can actually see the contents” for brick-and-mortar bookstores, and “because it doesn’t take up space to store the books” for e-book stores. When asked about their most frequently used bookstores for each book genre, users who answered “I use both online and
brick-and-mortar bookstores” found that for magazines,
“brick-and-mortar bookstores” (46.9%) outnumbered “online bookstores” (41.6%). Furthermore, for manga and comics, more users answered that they “frequently use” e-book stores (16.7%) compared to other genres. When asked why they most frequently use online bookstores,
brick-and-mortar bookstores, and e-book stores, the most common answer for online bookstores was “because I can earn and use points” (62.0%), followed by “because I can purchase books anywhere, anytime” (44.2%), suggesting that they are often chosen for their value and convenience. Additionally, the most common reasons for purchasing books at brick-and-mortar bookstores were “because you can actually see the contents” (67.3%) and “because they don’t take up space” (70.6%), demonstrating that people choose where to purchase books based on their respective strengths and characteristics.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/5889/2495/5889-2495-51ad802fdbaf8cf775cd9201c6bddd47-650×323.png ■Approximately 70% of users purchase books at least once a month. Popular genres are “Manga/Comics,” “Novels,” and “Hobbies/Cultural.” When Rakuten Books users were asked “How often have you purchased books in the past six months?”, approximately 70% answered “at least once a month,” with the most common answer being “about two to three times a month” (32.7%), indicating that many users purchase books regularly. Additionally, when asked “What genres of books do you usually read?”, the top answers were “Manga/Comics” (63.6%), “Novels” (53.7%), and “Hobbies/Cultural” (45.6%). Furthermore, when asked “What information do you refer to before purchasing a book?”, the most popular answer was “I don’t refer to anything in particular” (28.3%), followed by “reviews and ratings from online bookstores” (28.0%) and “media (newspapers, magazines, television, etc.)” (22.0%).In addition, when asked “What does reading mean to you?”, the most common answer was “hobby/entertainment” (74.4%), followed by “change of
mood/relaxation” (61.7%), which shows that many people have a positive image of reading.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/5889/2495/5889-2495-2d04b98ac659d4d554c2665fa9f715b5-650×340.png ■Survey overview Survey area: Nationwide Survey participants: Rakuten Books users (users with a book purchase history within a certain period of time) Sample size: 10,000 samples Survey period: Friday, August 15, 2025 – Sunday, August 17, 2025 Survey organization: Rakuten Books Note: This report is rounded to the nearest tenth, so the total may not necessarily add up to 100%. ■ Overview of the “Support Autumn Reading! Bookshelf Show-Off SNS Campaign” Featured page:
https://news.books.rakuten.net/20250912/bookshelf.html period: Thursday, September 18, 2025, 10:00 AM – Tuesday, October 14, 2025, 9:59 AM Summary: Follow the official Rakuten Books account
(@rakutenbooks) or official Instagram account (@rakutenbooks) and post a photo of your bookshelf with the hashtag
“#RakutenBooksBookshelfShowoff” to win a ¥2,000 “Book Card Net Gift” for 20 winners on X, and an “Original ‘Gochisousan’ Made in Japan Genuine Leather Book Cover” for 5 winners on Instagram. ■ “KYOTO BOOK PARK 2025” event overview
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/5889/2495/5889-2495-df225824ad04fa1690f0957db8481503-819×483.jpg Date and Time: Saturday, November 8, 2025, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Sunday, November 9, 2025, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Venue: Umekoji Park Shichijo Entrance Square (in front of JR San’in Main Line, Umekoji Kyoto-nishi Station) 〒600-8835 Inside Umekoji Park, 56-3 Kankiji-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Sponsor: KYOTO BOOK PARK Executive Committee ■About “Rakuten Books” https://books.rakuten.co.jp/ Rakuten Books is an online bookstore operated by Rakuten Group, Inc., offering over 1.7 million items (as of January 2025), including books, magazines, DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, and games. By purchasing from Rakuten Books, you can earn Rakuten Points and use them at checkout. All items are delivered free of charge. Rakuten Books is also eligible for the Super Point Up Program (SPU), which allows you to enjoy great deals on shopping at Rakuten Ichiba. For some eligible items sold on Rakuten Books, we offer a service where orders placed in the morning will arrive the next day, as well as a “Mattoku Delivery” service, which grants you Rakuten Points in exchange for a longer delivery time. ・”Oshiraku”: A comprehensive entertainment media outlet disseminating all kinds of information related to “oshi” URL: https://fan.books.rakuten.co.jp/ ・”Entertainment Times”: Campaign announcements and archives of information URL: https://news.books.rakuten.net/ ・”Rakuten Books: What’s Hot Right Now!!”: Introducing trending and other popular products URL: https://books.rakuten.co.jp/event/trend-news/ That’s all For more information about this release
