China’s mobile reading market reached 2.47 billion yuan (US$0.38 billion) including reading on web pages, Weibo, WeChat, mobile news apps, mobile reading apps, etc. as of June 2015 according to Analysys.
| China Major Mobile Reading Apps in 2015 | ||
| Rank | App | URL |
| 1 | QQ Reading | http://reader.qq.com |
| 2 | iReader | http://www.zhangyue.com/ |
| 3 | Tadu | http://www.tadu.com/ |
| 4 | Netease Yuedu | http://yuedu.163.com/ |
| 5 | Aireader | http://www.airead.com |
| 6 | XM Reading | http://xm.91.com/ |
| 7 | CM Reading | http://www.cmread.com |
| 8 | TY Reading | http://www.tyread.com/ |
Mobile internet users totaled 740 million keeping the same with the previous quarter in Q2 this year. However, transaction values of China’s mobile internet market increased 26.1% to 661.94 billion yuan (US$102.60 billion) in Q2 2015.
China’s mobile reading market was 2.47 billion yuan (US$0.38 billion) with an increase of 3.3% compared to Q1 2015 in Q2 2015. Although the growth rate was slow, the total revenues would increase with more mobile reading apps and premium content entering the market.
Reading was part of the most popular activities in China. Reading on mobile apps had a penetration rate of 59.1% in China’s mobile internet market in Q2 2015, only next to social media and instant messaging.
Mobile reading has been more popular among China’s male internet users. Some reading platforms such as CM Reading released more fantasy and Kungfu novels which male readers preferred. With the rise of feminine consumption group, more romantic fictions would be promoted for catering to them.
Post-80s and post-90s under 30 years old accounted for over 60% of all mobile readers in July 2015. They had more spare time for reading and more strong willingness for paid reading. Mobile readers under 24 years old were expected to be the backbone of the mobile reading market in the future.
Overall, the average income level was low among mobile reading users. Readers with income less than 5,000 yuan (US$775.03) accounted for nearly 80% including students without income sources.
Mobile readers with low education background still accounted for the majority in China in July 2015. Readers with college, Junior college, high school and junior high school degree made up over 80% of total mobile readers.
QQ Reading delivered the best reading experience to mobile readers according to the satisfied degree in July 2015.
Qiandian was the largest reading app in China with an overwhelming large book storage, followed by QQ Reading and Netease Yuedu. Large book storage was one of the most important hardware China’s mobile reading apps should equip to gain more readers.
Also read: China’s Mobile Internet Insights Q1-Q3 2015