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How have bookshops been able to survive and stay relevant when so much of the reading we do is now online? When even physical books can be purchased online? We all love the idea of the traditional bookstore, but for the bookstore to survive, the traditional doesn’t always work. Bookstores are coming up with innovative ways to adapt to our always-changing society, which I’ll discuss in this post.
Bookshops online
The internet allows bookshops to advertise their products to a broader audience and choose where they make deliveries. There used to be a beautiful bookshop opposite the Wheeler Centre called Embiggen Books but they went out of business last year in June. Their shop was unique because they didn’t sell books online, but this was probably part of their downfall and shows how a failure to transition to online sales can threaten the relevance of a bookstore. They had an online presence but weren’t gaining income through their website. Online sales can help fund physical shops so they can continue to support the community.
Online marketplaces
Bookshops have to compete with companies like Book Depository, Booktopia and Amazon. These websites are able to bulk buy books and sell them for discounted prices, making them a cheaper alternative. Front pages of their websites advertise free delivery and current sales, which are less common from bookshops with a physical shop to manage and sustain. Physical shops are becoming more focused on the experience of making a purchase, but online sales are more economical. There’s great potential in online marketplaces because of their ease of use, so physical shops have to find a point of difference in order to stay relevant.
Goodreads
Websites like Goodreads help promote books and allow readers to find their next read – almost like a virtual bookseller. Readers can share reviews and recommendations. This indirectly supports bookshops.
eBooks
eBooks are a potential threat to bookshops because of their ease of use and cheaper price point. Authors can self-publish their work online with less financial risk. eBooks can be purchased anywhere and are immediately available. Readers can store many on their phone, Kindle or digital device. It’s good that eBooks promote reading and purchasing books but physical books, and therefore bookshops, can’t compete with their practicality.
Audiobooks
Some bookshops sell audiobooks as physical CDs, but online downloads are more convenient, and subscription services are more cost effective. Audiobooks offer a different, non-traditional reading experience. They make it easier to keep up with reading for those with a busy schedule. For example, people can listen to content in their car on the way to work and it allows for multitasking. Bookshops can’t offer the same services.
Podcasts
Podcasts also have rising popularity. They let readers listen to discussions about books. The tone is usually conversational, which is inclusive and inviting. Similar to the audiobook, people can listen while doing other tasks. They’re a threat to bookshops because they are popular and only exist online. Online marketplaces like Booktopia and Amazon sell them because they can be downloaded. But bookshop survival depends on all bookish promotion. Even though they don’t make money from audiobooks, the promotion of books supports bookshops indirectly.
Social media
A fantastic promoter of physical books and bookshops is social media. Many social media platforms depend on visual content (alt text and captions help vision impaired). On Instagram there’s Bookstagram, where readers and book lovers take photos of book covers, their bookshelves, text and book flatlays. Images romanticise reading, exploring bookshops, drinking coffee, and snuggling up with a book. On YouTube Booktube has emerged; a community of avid readers who share their opinions and discuss topics surrounding books.
Book blogs frequently post reviews, reading updates and recommendations with physical books in the thumbnail. It’s common to find book haul posts, generating hype for new releases. Publishing houses work with book influencers, sending them advanced copies for free in exchange for reviews and promotion. Bookshops use social media to let us know when events and sales are happening. In January this year the independent bookshop Hill of Content was partially flooded. Social media allowed people to rally support for the bookshop and purchase books during this time.
Book merchandise
Many bookshops also sell book merchandise, such as keyrings, enamel pins, candles, socks and bookmarks. Authors, as well as bookshops, can make money from selling book merchandise. Subscription boxes hold a mix of books and bookish merch, promoting physical products and props for bookstagram photographs. A lot of bookish merchandise is sold online, and customers can buy products to show their support for books. This merchandise is growing in popularity because of all the marketing of bookstagrammers and booktubers, and bookshops have noticed the value of these products.
