BookTok Made Me Read It: Eine qualitative Analyse der Customer Experience von Leser*innen der Generation Z

Abstract

This bachelor’s thesis analyses how the social media phenomenon BookTok influences the customer experience (CX) of Generation Z readers in Germany and Austria. The focus is on book purchases and the reading experience. A framework that combines terms such as customer journey, digital touchpoints, social media and the consumer behaviour of Generation Z serves as a theoretical basis. BookTok is viewed as a digital reading community in which algorithmically selected content meets personal recommendations. In the empirical part of the thesis, six semi-structured interviews were conducted with active BookTok users and analysed using Mayring’s qualitative content analysis. The results show that BookTok helps to shape the customer experience along the entire reading journey, from initial attention to the purchase decision to the actual reading experience. Frequent visibility, emotional staging and community trends mean that certain books stand out in particular. At the same time, BookTok creates expectations, influences reading motivation and expands the genre interest of many users. In addition to the purchase incentive, the social experience of reading is also elevated, for example through the exchange in comments, reading lives or joint challenges. A key finding is the importance of trust in bookfluencers. Recommendations are perceived as credible if they are authentic, transparent and adapted to individual reading tastes. The interviews also show that users interact with BookTok in different ways: While some actively create content, others use the platform more passively for inspiration. The work contributes to a broader understanding of digital reading habits and shows how BookTok, as a social online space, creates new ways of communicating books. This has practical implications for the book industry, for example for targeted marketing measures or community maintenance. Future research could focus on the long-term impact of BookTok and the interplay between algorithms, content and user behaviour.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Armin Johann Schnürer (Supervisor)