Online bookstores inching their way to popularity

BANGALORE: Greater IT penetration coupled with easy accessibility and reach and the sheer convenience of
shopping online, was driving the online book store market in India with players expecting this market to receive a further fillip with the onset of e-commerce and the digital book era.

The experience of dropping into the quintessential bookstore and scouring for books, or quickly chatting up with the owner and booking for one's copy of the bestseller before it is sold out, may soon become passe with online bookstores and digital books inching their way forward in the market.

"The current size of the online bookmarket is estimated to be about Rs 70 crore in annual sales and it is increasing at the rate of 50 per cent year on year", said Rahul Sethi, President-e-Commerce, ibibo web Private Limited, which launched TradusBooks.in, an online bookstore for India.

"The increasing internet penetration, consumer confidence in online retail as a format is driving this growth. The convenience of shopping online and the wide choice and attractive prices available online are also growth drivers", said Sachin Bansal, CEO and co-founder, Flipkart.com.

"On an average 10,000-12,000 people shop for books everyday.Most are men within age-group of 25-35. Almost 50 per cent of the orders come from the top eight cities and the remaining come from B & C class towns, said Rahul.

"The online book market is steadily growing. We expect the industry to grow at around 15-20 per cent annually, with online sales doing better than physical transactions. We are India's largest online bookstore with more than ten million titles and we sell around 1.5 lakh books a month and at the rate of four books per minute", said Bansal.

The convenience of selection in the comfort of a reader's home attractive prices, easily available updates on best sellers, new arrivals also make this it a very convenient platform for customers, said a book dealer.

The earlier hassle of making prior payment has given way to cash on delivery, making it a convenient option for those shopping for books of their choice, sitting at home.

"Moreover the purchase of books does not necessitate the need for the `feel and buy concept' like other products. The standardisation of the product makes it an ideal online product for the online platform", Rahul said.

The need of huge investments in terms of setting up large physical book stores is also eliminated. Distribution is the key in the book market and the online platform through its easy accessibility in terms or reach and placing orders makes it desirable, he said.