The consumer electronics market is much bigger than the book market, which is a $28 billion industry.

Judged as of April 2001. The claim has two parts: (a) the US (or global, whichever basis the context implies) book industry was about $28 billion a year, and (b) the consumer electronics market was much bigger than that. True: industry estimates for around 2000–2001 put book industry sales at roughly $28 billion (about ±10%, so about $25–31bn, counts as 'about'), and estimates of consumer electronics market size on a comparable geographic basis are clearly larger (at least about 1.5 times). Mostly true: CE is clearly larger, but the book figure is a bit outside that band (within about ±20%), or the basis is a little different (e.g. a publisher net-sales figure versus consumer spending). Mixed: one part holds and the other clearly fails, e.g. CE is much bigger but the book figure is off by more than 20%. Mostly false: the book figure is far off and CE is only slightly bigger. False: CE was not bigger than books on a comparable basis and the book figure is wrong as well.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Consumer Electronics Sales Top $90 Billion RadioWorld · 11 January 2001

   “Sales of consumer electronic products totaled $90 billion in 2000 – a 10 % increase over the year before, said Gary Shapiro, president/CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association”

2. E2 [PDF] Amazon.com: Marching Towards Profitability - Gwern.net Stanford Graduate School of Business (case EC-25) · July 2001

   “In 2000, total spending on books in the United States reached $24.5 billion, up 5.2% from 1999 and growing on average at 5.3% annually since 1992.”

E2 puts US book spending in 2000 at $24.5 billion, within about 20% of the claimed $28 billion. E1 gives $90 billion in consumer electronics sales for 2000 but does not say which geographic market that covers, so the evidence does not confirm that electronics was larger on a comparable basis, as the criteria require.