Indian booksellers are not serious about online sales

Sometime ago, we looked at how the various Indian book-shopping sites stack up. It was quite evident that there were very few serious players. A recent report that I came across further confirms that the booksellers themselves are not gung-ho about their online models. The study says that books constitute 31% of all online shopping. I have my own doubts about this figure.

Chennai-based bookstore, Landmark which set up its virtual bookstore a few years ago is also not too upbeat about the prospects of the venture for the next few years.

Hemu Ramaiah, CEO, said, "It was something we started for a lark, just because we wanted to and not because we expected to make money off it."

The e-tailing business contributed about Rs 31 lakh to the groups total turnover of Rs 100 crore last year. This, despite it offering an impressive 1 million titles (1.1 million to be precise). Earlier, people had their apprehensions about making payments online but that is not the case today.

However, people are still not ordering books online although it is an extremely convenient proposition.

While this could partly be linked to the low level of internet penetration in India, other factor that limits online book shopping is that the people likely to order online are the ones who like going to one of the modern bookstores, for the ambience and experience that comes with buying a book. This, most people believe, is unlikely to change soon.

I can only say that Landmark has not fully realized the potential of the online model. With a strong brand like Landmark, they could have definitely achieved more if they had been a bit more aggressive. With such a low annual sales figure (for Internet sales), I won’t be surprised if Landmark decides to ditch the model and concentrate more on their expansions plans.