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E-commerce player Flipkart is back in action with books. The Bangalore-based company plans to promote the culture of gifting books this festival season.
Anil Goteti, Director (Retail), Flipkart, said the company would start several consumer engagement initiatives around books this Diwali, in a bid to inculcate the habit of buying and reading books, especially among children.
“Occasion-led gifting during Christmas is very popular in the US. We want to pioneer that culture in India,” Goteti said, adding that India still lags behind the West in per capita reading. It is almost one-tenth of what people consume in the US, he added. However, he said, several new-age parents have started reading to their children of late, and tend to start at an early age. The children’s book segment is growing fast at 30 per annum. The Indian book segment, excluding text books, is currently estimated at Rs 800-1,000 crore, with Flipkart cornering close to 45 per cent of the market in terms of volumes. Books counts for the top three categories across all States in India, Goteti added.
In a bid to boost sales of books this festival season, the company has created a book gifting page, which has already gone live, offering up to 60 per cent discount on bestsellers. The company has also initiated a meet-and-greet the author programmes, where consumers can have a live chat with the authors.
The online retailer is also targeting first-time readers in small towns who have limited scope and access to good books. Flipkart is adding several thousands of books to its website every month.
Given that the slowdown and uncertainty over incentives have marred festival buying among consumers this year, books could be a good option as they are less expensive and have a high novelty factor, Goteti said.
Incidentally, the focus on books by Flipkart, which now aims to be the largest online marketplace selling everything from books to furniture, has increased following the entry of e-commerce behemoth Amazon in the Indian market. The portal has a much wider bouquet of international offerings at 10-20 per cent discounts on regular days, whereas Flipkart tends to offer 0-10 per cent discounts.
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