How e-Commerce Helps Book Publishing Companies
E-commerce has changed the way book publishing companies do business. Instead of concentrating on sales to bookstores, publishers can now sell directly to customers. With the advent of online companies that print books on demand, publishers can more easily and cheaply print books and get them in the hands of consumers.
Other People Are Reading
-
What Is e-Commerce?
-
E-commerce refers to any business transaction that is conducted over the Internet rather than in a physical store. E-commerce customers can view catalog pages over the Internet and often can search for the exact item they need. When they find something they'd like to buy, they can order it with a few clicks of the mouse. Customers pay for shipping to their homes as well as the purchase price of the items. The cost is charged to the customer's debit or credit card.
Book Publishing Before e-Commerce
-
Before e-commerce became popular, printing and selling books was a much different process than it is now. Books were printed using lithographs and printing presses. Publishing books was a laborious, expensive process. Once books were published, selling them was just as difficult. Publishers had to get them onto bookstore shelves. Bookstores would buy them at the wholesale price and sell them to customers at a higher price. The publisher would receive a percentage of each sale and would then give a percentage of this money to the author.
-
Producing Books in the Digital Age
-
The digital revolution has made it much easier to produce books. Instead of printing presses, publishers now use computer software to lay out text and graphics. Getting books ready to print is no longer a laborious process.
E-commerce has created two additional changes in the way books are published. First, publishers no longer have to produce a set number of books. Since printing the books themselves is no longer expensive or difficult, publishers can afford to wait until they receive an order for a book before producing it. Secondly, because books are produced using computer files, publishers can offer customers e-books, or electronic versions of books, at a lower price. Customers can order the book file online and download it immediately.
e-Commerce and Book Sales
-
E-commerce has eliminated the bookstore as middleman. Consumers can order books directly from the publisher over the Internet.
Sites such as Amazon.com function as the virtual equivalent of bookstores. These sites buy books from publishers at reduced prices and sell them to consumers. However, the costs involved are far lower, as publishers can utilize print-on-demand technology to send these sites the exact number of books they need.
e-Commerce and Book Marketing
-
How books are marketed, or promoted, has also changed due to e-commerce. In the past, it was more difficult to target advertising to a particular consumer base. Just as publishers could not sell books directly to customers, they could not advertise directly to them. Instead, they had to design ads on television, radio and in print that would hopefully hit some of their target group.
In the digital age, publishers can use Internet technology to cause ads to appear on websites used by members of their target group. They can also advertise in blogs or on social media sites targeted to these people. Finally, e-commerce sites can deliver recommendations to customers based on products they have viewed or bought in the past.
-
References
- Photo Credit three credit cards image by Aleksandr Ugorenkov from Fotolia.com
