Rakuten Kobo Study: Singaporeans Spent Over 10,000 Days eReading in 2020

Credit: Rakuten Kobo

A recent study by Rakuten Kobo has revealed that Kobo eReader users in Singapore spent 10,409 days reading this year, which is equivalent to around 28 years. Compared to 2019’s stats, it’s an increase of eight years, which definitely isn’t all that surprising when you consider that many of us were stuck at home with not much else to do over the Circuit Breaker period.

With a 17% spike in reading minutes in May as compared to April, it’s clear that those figures coincide with the Circuit Breaker period, and the study also showed that most Singaporeans preferred to do their reading on Saturday when it’s easier to disconnect from work and relax.

Genres like romance and fiction are still some of the bestselling genres, but surprisingly, books focused on kids and motivational self-help books are also selling well. Singapore’s top-selling eBooks of 2020 include Michelle Obama’s Becoming, James Clear’s Atomic Habits and more.

While eBooks bought on Amazon will come in a proprietary format that Kobo eReaders won’t be able to read, the Kobo eReaders support standard files like ePub, MOBI and more.

Credit: Rakuten Kobo

With our lives becoming even more fast-paced, we’ve noticed a change in reading habits. Newspapers and magazines have started focusing heavily on their online presence in the past few years, and it’s no surprise that eReader devices are gaining in popularity. After all, why carry one book around when you can carry over 100 books in a light and portable device?

That being said, not everybody has the luxury of buying new books, and libraries are actually an excellent resource here in Singapore that’s underutilised. With Kobo’s OverDrive service, users can borrow eBooks from their local library’s digital collection. The service is even available in Singapore, so that’s great news for voracious readers who might go through new books in a day or two.

Credit: Rakuten Kobo

I’ve been putting off catching up on my reading backlog for a while, but hearing that 7am and 12am are the most popular times for reading makes me that bit more motivated to find time in my day to read, even if it’s just a few pages. After all, if I don’t finish what I have on hand, how will I ever get to check out Kobo’s catalogue of over 6 million titles?

Written by Cheryl Tan