Friday, December 18, 2015

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em: Kiwi Bookshops embrace the digital revolution

Lincoln Gould - The Read - Booksellers NZ


Last week, two video shops I use closed, apparently because of the impact of online challengers such as Netflix and Lightbox - a blow to local communities. Last week, there were no closures of bookshops: in fact business for many bookshops is developing and expanding because of opportunities derived from the digital revolution.

It may be too early to say that bookshops have seen off the devastating impact that digitisation has had on other business types such as video shops and music stores – but the signs are there. Sales through New Zealand bookshops are currently running at 7.8% growth in volume year to date, and growth seems now to be bedded into the regular sales figures from Nielsen BookScan.

Read on to see how our bookshops are winning in 2015

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