Book Stores Are Making a Comeback
Is it common wisdom that Amazon now owns the book sales market. They helped put Borders Books out of business. They’ve also been largely responsible for the decline in independent book stores all across the country. On the other hand, the latest buzz indicates that physical book stores are on the rise again, despite Amazon.
So, is this good news? We believe it is.
What the Bookstore Comeback Means to Retail
The retail business has always been a fluctuating business sector. In any retail niche, businesses come and go. Across the board, technology influences retail, sometimes for the good and sometimes for ill. Any way you look at it, technology is always a factor in retail. This time, it could be a factor that leads new book stores to better management, a healthier operation, and more profits.
Like any retail business, book stores have to manage their inventory, their customers, their prices, and their entire operations. A retail management software makes that easy.
Of course, there is a lot of room for diversity in the book store business. We likely won’t see another format like Borders for a long time. People no longer buy music and videos at large box retailers. Why should they when they stream then online through Netflix or order them cheaper from Amazon? That means book stores can get more creative at the local level.
One way that local book stores have an advantage over Amazon is they can set up a reading lounge, which is a great place to sit in a quiet atmosphere and enjoy the good book you just purchased or to meet others with like interests. How the book store is managed makes a huge difference in whether that book store survives. And local book stores can use Internet technology to beat Amazon in those areas where they have an edge, like hosting Meetups, for instance.
Whether you run an independent book store or a chain, a niche store (maybe one that focuses on business books or one that specializes in metaphysical selections), you can make your store profitable just by keeping your inventory in check and your prices under control. A software like ChainDrive’s end-to-end retail management solution can help you do that more efficiently. The right technology can help you compete against Amazon and your local competition.
