The global pandemic and its effect on the Publishing industry
For the avid bibliophiles, shopping for books used to be an hours-long ritual involving intense browsing, selecting, discussing and finally settling on the books one wished to purchase. But, over the last couple of years, due to the pandemic induced lockdowns, a seismic shift has occurred in the way books are being bought and sold. With changes in customer buying patterns, publishers and booksellers have also had to modify the way they function.
Since the first wave of the coronavirus in 2020, bookstores across the country have struggled to stay open. Over the next months, many established bookstores as well as smaller operations had to call it quits, having struggled with literally zero footfall, dead stock and the ensuing finance crunch. This downward spiral in sales and profits was reflected in the publishing industry as well. While the extent of revenue loss is not available, one can definitely state that these have been very trying times for all publishers, big and small. Specially affected were those publishers who rely on brick-and-mortar storesfor a major chunk of their revenue.
Publishing challenges during the pandemic
The book business which used to center around focal points like universities up to the 1970s and 80s, saw a significant shift towards leisure stores in the 80s and 90s. Stores like Landmark and Crossword became the converging points for all kinds of booklovers, from those simply browsing to the serious buyers. Also, internationally published books became available to the Indian reader almost at the same time as the rest of the world. This led to a boom in the publishing industry as well, with new publishing houses being launched and the existing ones being expanded. Many smaller and niche publishers also found a dedicated clientele for their lists.
However, all this changed significantly over the last two years of the global pandemic. Many best laid plans of expansion and development had to be shelved as publishers worried about the uncertainty of the situation and their ability to stay afloat in these times. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, and most publishing houses have managed to innovate and stay relevant. One major support for their sustenance was the digital medium.
Publishing of new titles took a backseat and most publishers took to the digital medium to engage with their audience in innovative fashion. While earlier they depended mainly on bookstores to do the necessary promotions and sales of their books, publishers now started working on connecting with their loyal readers through virtual author interactions and other such campaigns. Also, since fewer new titles were being printed, they shifted their focus to promoting their bestsellers and other backlists, which led to increasing sales of these titles on online platforms and e-book formats.
Apart from the most obvious problem of generating revenue through sales, publishers faced challenges on other fronts. These included logistical issues like manpower shortages at every level; printing presses not working to full capacity, and then too, being swamped with more work than could be done; regional lockdowns and their associated problems like transport restrictions and containment zones.
Book fairs, literary festivals, book launches, author meets, all came to a grinding halt. Very little budget was allocated for marketing since new titles were anyway few and far between.
Digital is one of the answers
A study —Impact of COVID-19 on the India Book Consumer— conducted by Nielsen Book India in June-August 2020 had some revealing insights. It showed that a large majority of respondents were reading more since the lockdown. And they were buying more books online than ever before. It was also seen that besides reading books, a large number of respondents were also increasingly listening to audio books.
Audiobook: The next gen book?
The market for audio books has steadily increased over the last couple of years. While the lockdowns and non-availability of print titles could be one reason, another factor for this growth could be the fact that leading audiobook companies have stepped up their Indian operations.
Book fairs, literary festivals, book launches, author meets, all came to a grinding halt. Very little budget was allocated for marketing since new titles were anyway few and far between.
Children’s books: the big draw
One genre that has received special attention from publishers, is children’s literature. Over the past couple of years, with school closures, children have been confined at home and parents have been at their wit’s end to keep them gainfully occupied. Readership of books among children has exponentially increased during this period. According to the Nielsen study, consumers with children at home were buying more children’s literature. This included the entire range from picture books and activity books for younger children, to fantasy and mystery for the older ones. Educational and skill development books were in great demand as people across all ages wished to use the period in gainful learning.
Footnote
Just like other sectors, the pandemic has significantly impacted the publishing world. On one hand there was the challenge of keeping sales up, while on the other, they had to devise measures to reach out and connect with their customers.
Having seen the power of the digital medium during the pandemic, most publishing houses have devised elaborate plans to expand their digital footprint even after things return to normal. They believe digital push along with the traditional sales and marketing approaches, would yield most desirable results. Many have revamped their websites and come up with newsletters and blogs to connect with and engage their readers.
Books are here to stay, and especially in trying times, they play an important role in individual and community well-being. While the challenges and difficulties, economic and otherwise, caused by the pandemic have been tremendous, this extraordinary situation has also provided impetus for many innovations in the publishing industry. Innovation along with good old-fashioned methodologies is the two-pronged approach which one hopes, will bring the publishing world back on the fast track.