E-Readers, E-Books to Be 'Hot Technology Gifts' for Kids, Survey Says

E-readers and e-books continue to be popular with children, and they figure to be "among the hot technology gifts for kids" this holiday selling season. So said the findings of a survey from Digital Book World, an online educational and news platform, and PlayCollective, a research and consulting firm. PlayCollective canvassed families in October and found more than 45 percent of all parents with children between the ages of 2 and 13 plan to buy a new device for their child to read e-books this holiday season, the firms said. Of those parents who already own a device, half are planning to buy a new one this season, up by 4 percentage points from last year, and nearly six of 10 "intend for the device to belong primarily to their child," they said. Although tablets have "reigned for the past two years," the Kindle e-reader is the device parents most intend to buy this year, "perhaps because the growing variety of tablets has splintered the competition," they said. Three-quarters of the parents surveyed plan to buy new e-books for their children this holiday season, up 2 percentage points from last year, they said. Parents plan to spend an average of $26.14 for new e-books, up by $1.03 from last year’s average, they said. "Although parents are spending more on ebooks, they are not necessarily buying more books. Parents' spending habits and holiday budget allow for three books this year, which is the same number as last holiday season."