In 2025, we weren’t looking for a special opportunity to read – we invited books into our everyday lives. Literature accompanies us at various moments of the day: on the way to work, while walking or while doing household chores. We want to have our favorite stories always at hand, regardless of what we are doing. This change in approach means that we spend more and more time on digital books – this year alone, the average reading and listening time per Empik Go user increased by as much as 22% compared to the previous year. Moreover, almost half of users read more than one book a month, proving that there is always a right moment for a good story.
Empik Go users not only read more, but also keep up to date with new releases. In 2025, as many as 30% of selected titles were premieres, which shows that the digital book has become one of the fastest ways to reach new products and bestsellers. The growing involvement of users goes hand in hand with the popularization of digital books. In 2025, the number of paying subscribers to the Empik Go application increased by as much as 60%, which confirms how many people value the convenience of reading e-books and listening to audiobooks.
Reading on the move. An audiobook allows you to regain time for a book
Audiobooks have become a natural part of everyday life – it is a format that allows you to be close to literature even when the day is filled with other duties. Our reading choices perfectly match the rhythm of the day and the need to engage with books at different moments. The peak of listening time falls on afternoon returns home between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., when a book makes the time spent in the car or bus ride more pleasant, and in the evenings between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., when audiobooks accompany us while relaxing before going to sleep.
This is best expressed in the words of Ewa, one of the Empik Go users, who admits that although reading has always been her passion, it was difficult for her to find a separate moment for it during the day. The key turned out to be redefining the daily routine – household chores became a space to read your favorite book. “I have always liked reading books, but when you are an adult, you have a family and a job, it is difficult to allocate time […] However, I discovered that you can combine business with pleasure, e.g. cleaning and listening to a good novel at the same time.”
For many of us, this change of perspective turned out to be crucial. We stopped looking for a separate moment for reading and started weaving books into our everyday activities. It is no coincidence that in 2025, Empik Go users spent on average 25% more time with audiobooks than the year before.
The evening belongs to the ebook
Although the growth dynamics of audiobooks was stronger in 2025, e-books also strengthened their position. The average time spent reading e-books per user increased by 14% year-on-year, confirming that this format remains an important part of digital reading rituals.
Unlike audiobooks, the consumption of which – outside peak hours – is spread relatively evenly throughout the day, e-books are most often consumed in the evening, between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. – a time that favors calm and concentration.
Increased interest in e-books appears especially during holiday periods. During holidays, long weekends and trips, a digital library replaces heavy suitcases with books. As users note, the ability to take many titles with you in one reader makes it easier to adapt reading to the changing rhythm of the day.
Binge-reading and the TV series effect. Books read in sequence
Data shows that users are increasingly willing to continue the stories they have started. The average book completion rate in 2025 reached 86%, an increase of 10 percentage points year-on-year. This is a clear signal that readers find titles tailored to their tastes and consistently finish the items they start thanks to well-selected recommendations in the application.
As many as 35% of the books selected in 2025 were subsequent parts of the series. This is especially clear in youth literature, where multi-volume stories dominate. What’s more, 60% of users who started the series read its subsequent volumes, treating reading similarly to watching their favorite series. This is the book equivalent of binge-watching known from movie streaming platforms.
The most frequently chosen cycles include: “Harry Potter”, “Kolory Zła” by Małgorzata Oliwia Sobczak and the “Joanna Chyłka” series by Remigiusz Mróz, which once again confirmed that well-told stories attract readers for longer.
Species that accompany us every day. Custom and crime come first
In 2025, we spent most of our time with non-fiction, crime, thriller and suspense fiction, i.e. titles that allow us to break away from everyday life, but at the same time easily “engage” us and accompany us in routine activities. These two categories of books account for over 60% of the time spent reading in Empik Go. These choices also differ by gender. Women were more likely to read fiction and stories focused on relationships, while men were more likely to choose crime, thriller, thriller and non-fiction.
Children’s literature also ranks high and is increasingly becoming an element of family rituals. The way the youngest users use the application has also changed – in 2025, the number of users using the children’s mode in Empik Go more than doubled, which confirms the growing need for parents to have access to safe content for the youngest. This responsibly designed digital environment promotes both independent discovery of history and listening together as a family.
The most popular series of fairy tales for children include: “Fablehaven” by Brandon Mull, “Masurians in a Journey” by Agnieszka Stelmaszyk and “Emi Secret Club of Supergirls” by Agnieszka Mielech.
Records of the year: authors and voices with whom we spent millions of hours
Digital reading also means a strong attachment to authors and teachers. In 2025, Empik Go users spent over 1.8 million hours (or over 200 years) with Remigiusz Mróz’s books, which again makes him the most frequently chosen author on the platform. Similarly to last year, the leaders included, among others: JK Rowling, Małgorzata Oliwia Sobczak and Sarah J. Maas – creators associated with extensive worlds and multi-volume stories.
Teachers also have an increasing power of attraction. Filip Kosior’s voice was the most frequently selected and searched for in the Empik Go application. As one of the Empik Go users points out: “I often return to the same story in two forms: first I read the e-book, and then I listen to the audio version. It’s amazing how, thanks to the narrator’s interpretation, the same story can take on a completely different meaning.” This shows that for many users, the way of narration is as important as the story itself.
A book adapted to life
The summary of 2025 shows that the digital book has become a natural element of everyday life. Audiobooks accompany Poles on the move, e-books help you slow down in the evening, and book series absorb you for long hours, just like your favorite TV series.
Empik Go, analyzing the habits of its users, observes not only an increase in scale, but above all a change in the way of contact with literature – more flexible, adapted to the rhythm of the day and the real needs of modern readers. It is also the result of the work of the Empik Go team, authors, lecturers and publishers who created and developed the offer throughout the year, and thousands of users who selected books every day – reading and listening to them for millions of hours. Thanks to them, digital literature lives, changes and becomes more and more integrated into everyday life.
