Books, a difficult 2025 that burned three million copies
The book market slips below the symbolic threshold of 100 million copies, following a European trend. Large groups hold up and digital acts as a shock absorber, while independents and smaller bookshops suffer
Key points
Venice, with its timeless charm, is the setting for a verdict that was in the air for Italian publishing. During the final day of the Umberto and Elisabetta Mauri School for Booksellers, the president of the Aie, Innocenzo Cipolletta, presented the figures of "a difficult year with a drop in print copies bought that brings us for the first time in the last five years below the threshold of 100 million books in the trade channels".
The change of direction expected in 2026
The sector's hope, adds the president of the Italian association of book publishers, 'is that 2026 will trigger a change of direction, also thanks to the measures to support demand: the 60 million library fund, the 17 million Culture Card for less affluent families and, with reference to 2027, the Bonus Valore Cultura for all graduates under 19 years of age that will replace the Culture Card and Merit Card'.
Under 100 million copies
For the first time in the last five years, therefore, the miscellaneous market (printed fiction and non-fiction books, excluding scholastic books, bought in physical and online bookshops and in large-scale distribution) slipped below the psychological threshold of 100 million copies sold, stopping at 99.5 million.
A 'European' downturn
A slowing market, but not an isolated dynamic. The 3% drop in print sales is a trend that Italy shares with much of Europe. If Berlin weeps (-4.9%) and Paris sighs (-2.5%), Rome nevertheless tries to limit the damage. In terms of value, the drop is more contained (-2.1%), with a total expenditure of €1,483.9 million. In this scenario, the picture improves if we widen the frame. Digital continues to act as a buffer: ebooks grow by 2.4% to EUR 87 million, audiobooks accelerate by 13.3% to EUR 34 million thanks to subscriptions. Paper plus bits are thus worth EUR 1,604.9 million, down 1.6%.
Big groups are better
In this picture, what transpires, however, is an asymmetrical market. The large groups hold up better (-1.9%), while independent publishers suffer more: -6% for those over five million in turnover outside groups and -6.2% for the smallest, under one million. In the middle, almost a statistical anomaly, publishers between one and five million grew by 1.2%, as if the average size was now the most resilient.
