Amazon now displays monthly sales – what does it say about the Kindle?

Amazon now displays the number of units sold in the past month – and it’s a great way to analyze how people buy the Kindle.

Maybe you have this little new feature noticed already, as it was introduced in the Amazon store a few months ago.

Now, every listing with 50+ sales from the last month or 30 days comes with a tiny little text right below the rating. It says just that: “50+ bought in past month,” or “10K+ bought in past month”.

This new Amazon store improvement is actually a strong incentive to buy, as customers see the scale of the popularity a specific product enjoys. Wallets are more convincing than reviews.

The “bought” message is not only seen on product pages, but also in search pages, and recommendation sections under each listing, such as “customer also bought,” or “more items to consider”.

It’s worth noting that, together with “bought,” Amazon now displays another message: “viewed”. For instance: “1K+ viewed in past month”. In this case, however, I believe, the products don’t sell well, or a conversion is not high if the “viewed” is considered by Amazon store algorithms a stronger incentive than “bought”.

Back to the Kindle. What does the number of units sold in the past month tell us about the Kindle? What are consumers looking for? What factors do they take into consideration?

First, let’s look at the numbers. I have collected them on Thursday, October 3, 2024, which is:

– A few days before Prime Big Deal Days 2024, which runs on October 8 and 9, 2024.

– A few days before the expected launch of the 2024 basic Kindle model (12th generation) rumored to have a 25% brighter front light and a green body color besides the black.

Having these factors in mind, plus the time of the year, we can assume that most consumers are buying the Kindle for themselves and not as a gift.

Please note that it’s not clear whether Amazon counts the number of units sold in the past month (September) or the last 30 days (which makes more sense).

However, I have noticed that the “bought” message has appeared on multiple products during the month. It looks like it’s automatic: the sales cross 50 units and the message appears. This means we are talking about the number of units sold in the last 30 days.

Amazon Kindle models – units sold in the past month (last 30 days)

▸ Basic Kindle (from $99) – 6K+ bought in past month

▸ Kindle Paperwhite (from $149) – 10K+ bought in past month

▸ Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (from $189) – 10K+ bought in past month (note: the Signature edition is a different listing than a regular Paperwhite, so the 10K is not the shared number of units sold)

▸ Kindle Scribe (from $339) – 3K+ bought in past month

▸ Kindle Kids ($119) – 500+ bought in past month

▸ Kindle Paperwhite Kids (from $115) – 3K+ bought in past month

Kindle e-readers, based on units sold – key findings

Users look for features not bargains

If you were thinking that the most popular Kindle model was the basic one, and it was because of its affordable price – you were wrong (I was wrong, too).

It might be true during sale events like Prime Day or Black Friday, when users are looking for bargains, and that means the cheaper the better.

But on a regular basis, the price is not the major sales driving factor.

In September (or the last 30 days), the basic Kindle model enjoyed the sales of around 6,000 units, compared to 10,000 units of the Kindle Paperwhite, 10,000 units of the Signature Edition, and 3,000 units of the Kindle Scribe.

It turns out, customers are well aware of the features and they can’t “afford” buying a Kindle model that does not have them.

Having this in mind, I don’t predict the new Kindle basic 2024 model will become a top seller. It offers minor improvements: an extra body color and a brighter screen illumination. Where are the rest of the features it could borrow from the Paperwhite?

When we combine the sales of the regular Paperwhite and Paperwhite Signature Edition (20,000), it’s by far the best selling Kindle model during a deal-free season.

Even the most expensive Scribe, which costs three times the basic Kindle, is selling 3,000 units a month – only twice less than the entry-level model.

One explanation of weak sales of the basic Kindle is that its regular price is too high – but this we may see in November and December when the price will be heavily reduced for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024.

Kindle e-readers are on a decline

When we combine the sales of all Kindle models in the last month/30 days, the total number will not be higher than 35-40 thousand.

An optimistic estimate for the third quarter of 2024 would be up to 300 thousand units of all Kindle models and Kindle bundles combined.

Compare it to the fourth quarter of 2010, when Amazon sold about 3.4 million Kindle e-readers, according to DiClemente, quoted by Reuters.

If we assume that the sales will surge three times during the fourth quarter of 2024, the total number of Kindles sold would probably not cross one million. It’s three, four times less than 14 years ago.

With no major improvement over the last two years, Kindle devices are slowly fading. It may change with the introduction of color Kindle models, rumored to happen in 2025.

Users are buying Kindles for their kids

The monthly sales of the basic Kindle are 6 thousand, while the Kindle Kids bundle – 500 hundred. 

3 thousand users bought the Kindle Paperwhite Kids bundle recently, compared to 10 thousand of the regular Paperwhite. In other words, some 20-25% of users decide to buy a Kindle Paperwhite dedicated for children. It’s a huge number, although we have to keep in mind that it might be a purchase related to the beginning of the school year.

What other conclusions can you take from the monthly sales of Kindle e-readers?

Would you like to see the numbers and analysis after Black Friday 2024?

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