On April 23, 2024, the 29th "World Book Day," various regions held rich book-themed activities offline: Beijing Book Fair gathered over 270 exhibitors, physical bookstores across the country offered discounts, and Shanghai Library collaborated with Shanghai Century Publishing Group for reading promotion activities...
Data released by Beijing Open Book Information Technology Co., Ltd. showed that in the first quarter of 2024, China's retail book market's total sales value (total book pricing) decreased by 5.85% year-on-year. Physical store sales continued to decline, while platform e-commerce sales dropped by 10.31% year-on-year. The only channel that saw an increase in sales value was short video e-commerce, with a growth rate of 31.15%.
Short video e-commerce drives book sales
According to Open Book data, in 2023, China's retail book market had a total sales value of 91.2 billion RMB, with a positive growth rate compared to the previous year. With short video livestreaming bringing new demand and vitality to the publishing industry, changes are quietly taking place in book sales channels.
In 2023, platform e-commerce remained the largest sales channel, with short video e-commerce ranking second. Sales through short video e-commerce showed a rapid growth trend, becoming a major driving force behind the overall retail market growth.
In the first quarter of 2024, although China's retail book market sales value decreased by 5.85% year-on-year, short video e-commerce still saw a 31.15% increase. Feng Xiaohui, manager of the research department at Beijing Open Book, stated that among the top 100 best-selling books through short video e-commerce in the first quarter of 2024, 15 were new releases, with a higher proportion of new books compared to other channels. This indicates that short video e-commerce continues to be an important channel for new book releases.
The development of book industry on Douyin e-commerce platform also confirms this trend. Data from Douyin e-commerce showed that in the first quarter of 2024, the live views of book promotion on Douyin platform exceeded 3.9 billion, with quality content seamlessly integrated with e-commerce, driving book sales on Douyin platform to exceed 150 million units, selling over 2 million books on average per day.
Restructuring of the book market
"Although audiobooks, e-books, and other digital formats have impacted the physical book market, physical books, due to their unique tactile experience, reading experience, and collectible value, will still have a relatively stable market." Wang Jiapeng, senior consultant at CIC Insight Consulting, believes that publishing companies should actively utilize new media forms such as short videos for innovative marketing and promotion methods to help readers better understand the content of books.
Zhu Qi, general manager of Shanghai Duoyunxuan Group Co., Ltd., told Shanghai Securities News that the publishing industry is undergoing transformation and upgrading, with the integration of traditional print publishing and digital development being the general trend.
Wang Jiapeng stated that new forms of internet platforms like short video e-commerce have brought unprecedented impact to the publishing industry, while also presenting new growth opportunities. Short video e-commerce platforms, with their intuitive and convenient features, allow readers to quickly access desired reading materials and provide publishers with a stage to showcase and promote their content more effectively.
Ai Limin, chairman of the China Book and Periodical Distribution Association, stated that e-commerce platforms, together with the publishing and distribution industry, have expanded the base of book readers, driving the publishing industry towards warmer and newer developments. With the popularization of digital technology and the rapid development of e-commerce platforms, the ways authors create, the content production methods of the publishing industry, and the reading habits of readers are all undergoing profound changes, requiring publishers to break through, innovate, and persist.
Wang Qiuling, deputy general manager of People's Literature Publishing House, mentioned that the connection between books and livestreaming for product promotion is becoming increasingly close, indicating that the book market is undergoing structural reshaping.
Publishing industry's online efforts
Data released by Douyin e-commerce showed that in the first quarter, the number of publishing houses self-broadcasting on Douyin e-commerce platform increased by 64% year-on-year, with over 19.25 million views on self-broadcasts by publishing houses, and a 33% year-on-year increase in GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) of publishing houses on the platform.
Guomai Culture is one of the leading companies in the domestic publishing industry, relying on a unique "Internet + Publishing" model to produce a large number of best-selling works. Qu Hongbin, president and director of Guomai Culture, said, "The Internet has brought new business models, shifting from people seeking goods to goods finding people. The company not only operates internet accounts for many bestselling authors like Yi Zhongtian but also manages multiple self-owned product accounts. These accounts not only livestream on multiple platforms but also regularly release various short videos."
Qu Hongbin explained that Guomai Culture leverages its years of building an internet product matrix to connect with users, pushing them tailored content and product information. In the initial stage of product launch, they accurately target users for direct-to-consumer sales; in the middle stage, they expand to major e-commerce platforms and distribution channels through search forwarding and word-of-mouth promotion, achieving business-to-business sales; in the mid to late stages of the book product lifecycle, the company utilizes internal internet accounts and external influencers to once again achieve direct-to-consumer sales for slow-moving products, preventing inventory backlogs and price drops, fundamentally addressing the industry pain point of "returning unsold goods."
"The CBC model can not only solve the problems of the publishing industry in China and abroad but will ultimately address common pain points in the global publishing industry," Qu Hongbin stated. The annual report shows that in 2023, Guomai Culture's internet direct-to-consumer sales revenue reached 116.3119 million RMB, a 40.45% year-on-year increase.
Traditional publishing houses are also expanding into internet livestreaming. Wang Qiuling mentioned that since 2020, People's Literature Publishing House has promptly laid out, adjusted, and improved book sales channels, opening a self-operated store on Douyin and collaborating with book knowledge influencers to recommend good books.
CITIC Press Group is one of the earliest publishers to engage in livestreaming, having conducted live broadcasts at various book fairs and literary festivals. As a leading local publishing and distribution company, Guangdong Xinhua Distribution Group under Southern Media has invested in Xinhe Media to boost short video e-commerce. It is understood that livestreaming has permeated every aspect of the publishing industry, influencing book topic planning, pricing, distribution, and marketing. Source: Shanghai Securities News
