Online access carves market share off college texts, inspirational book sales

The sale of texts for tertiary education, as well as inspirational books, including Bibles, have plummeted by about 70 per cent over the last few years because of their availability online, according to the head of one of the largest booksellers in the country.

Steadman Fuller Sr, chairman and managing director of Kingston Bookshop Limited, says tertiary-level students, those pursuing studies at college or university, rarely purchase texts because most of the material they need can be found on the internet.

“There are certain sections of the print book industry which have been affected by the internet over the years. For tertiary books in all areas, such as law, accounting and business, there is access to material online, and books that we used to sell are no longer prime sellers in our stores,” Fuller told the Financial Gleaner.

The situation is the same for churchgoers, as well as persons seeking an inspirational read.

“When you go to church you no longer carry a hymn book, because the hymns are on a screen in front of you. You can get your Bible on your gadget, so most young people will not be seen walking with a Bible. It’s on their phones. Also, the sale of inspirational books from authors like TD Jakes has plummeted. I think we have lost 70 per cent of our sales of tertiary books and inspirational books,” he said.

Meanwhile, sales during the back-to-school period this year have been similar to last year, with most parents shopping heavily during the last two weeks of August before the start of school next month, Fuller said.

“We see where there has been a delay in sections of the population coming out to shop. Sometimes they (shoppers) are depending on a partner draw, or book vouchers which are given out by politicians at this time. We are expecting a big upturn in activities over the next few days before school begins,” he said.

Payday for consumers, whether monthly or fortnightly, or the timing of remittances from abroad, also determine when persons come out to shop, Fuller noted.

“In terms of demographics, we find that new parents sending their children off to kindergarten for the first time are the ones who come out earlier” for school shopping, the bookseller remarked. “When you’re a new parent you’re quite emotional about sending off your child to school, so you come out early to get their outfits and supplies.”

Parents of children entering high school tend to come out in droves after they receive their Primary Exit Profile examination results, with most of the shopping occurring in the last few days of August. The academic year usually kicks off on the first Monday of September.

“There are a few discerning parents who come out in July, but the bulk of people’s back-to-school activities take place in the last two weeks of August. If you visit our stores now you will see a line outside,” Fuller said.

Meanwhile, book prices have increased by about five to 15 per cent from last year, due to higher printing costs and shipping charges, he advised.

“Despite the fact that some of the books are published locally, they are not printed locally because of considerations of cost or capacity,” he said.

Fuller described the level of book supplies at Kingston Bookshop’s eight locations nationwide as generally good, with some gaps.

Sheldon McIntosh, director of Stationery World and Book Centre Limited, said sales were similar to last year’s.

“Sales are good; parents will do what they have to do to get the books for their children and as a company, we are grateful for that,” McIntosh said in an interview with the Financial Gleaner.

The Stationery World director said prices were up slightly over last year, but not by what percentage, and that there was a shortage of some books because of logistical issues.

“It happens every year – issues with the supply chain. It just goes with the territory in the book industry. But after a time it levels off and people will be able to get their books,” said McIntosh.

“In the rush, you may have some shortage, but by September everything levels off,” he said.

On the issue of the copying of books, Fuller said the practice robs authors of earnings.

“The copying of books has always been an issue. There is a standard protocol on what percentage of a book you can legally copy. But that is not necessarily fair to the creators and publishers of this material when someone can just get up and copy an entire book,” he said.

“Printing is not so cheap, either”, so the copied material costs almost the same as buying the book, but “you haven’t got a book; what you have is a bunch of loose leaves that come apart,” he said.

Despite being a seller of new books, Fuller is encouraging parents with limited income to seek out used texts in good condition to save on money.

“As a person who is concerned about the cost of living, we encourage parents, where possible, to get a good second-hand book from a friend or a neighbour, as long as it’s the right edition, as back to school is a challenging time for most parents.”

The back-to-school period is critical for persons in the book business, with the bulk of sales happening at this time of year.

“I can safely say 60 per cent of our sales fall between the months of July and September,” Fuller said.

Notwithstanding the slump in some areas of the book market, Fuller said online purchases have not hurt local booksellers, generally.

“Most of the time when people go on Amazon, they are looking for books they cannot get locally. But by the time they bring it in, it’s more expensive than if they had bought it locally,” he said.

luke.douglas@gleanerjm.com