Ricardo Costa and David Peman analyse how metadata can boost book sales in Latin America

With data, experience and a critical eye, the round table “Book market data in Latin America”, held at Contec 2025, focused on an aspect as technical as it is crucial: publishing metadata and its direct impact on book sales and distribution.

Ricardo Costa, director of MVB Latin America, stressed the need to professionalise catalogue information: “A good book without correct metadata is like a product without a label. In the digital market, what cannot be searched for simply does not exist.”

From Mexico, David Peman, representative of Nielsen BookScan, highlighted the usefulness of market data for strategic decision-making:

“Sales analysis is not only for measuring the past, but for anticipating trends, adjusting print runs and understanding how readers actually behave.”

Both experts agreed that publishers and bookshops that manage metadata professionally have a clear competitive advantage, especially when seeking to internationalise their catalogue.

The round table also served as a call to build a culture of data management throughout the book chain, from creation to final sale, reinforcing a long-term strategic vision for the Chilean publishing sector on the road to Frankfurt 2027.

Watch the full round table here (in Spanish): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkVqcbk3owY