EBooks: changing the publishing industry, PwC

PwC

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company from its competitors. According 

to the experts, the range of products must 

be compatible with the devices in order 

to provide various customer groups with 

the best reading experience. In addition 

to PDF, an extensive range of books in 

the ePUB format is therefore particularly 

crucial factor. Simple user guidance is 

also essential. In addition, the online 

bookstores state that the arrival of new 

players in the market (for example, Google 

and Apple) represents the most significant

challenge. It will be crucial for players to 

gain a strong market position, especially in 

Europe, through a first mover advantage.

Bookstores will have to restructure 

themselves 

“I would not want to be a bookstore in this 

business”, said one of the experts. He was 

not alone with this opinion. Most experts 

are predicting lower sales of physical 

books, due mainly to the success of the 

online bookstore Amazon. In addition, the 

increasing distribution of eBooks will be a 

big factor in future business models.

eBooks and eReaders allow authors and 

publishers to circumvent the bookstore and 

reach end consumers directly. Bookstores 

will have to work hard to build, maintain, 

and strengthen relationships with 

customers through consumer knowledge, 

profiling, customized recommendations,

and the ability to complement local 

selection with online products. 

Even small bookstores will have to meet the 

challenge posed by the digitizing process

Internet sales also offer smaller bookstores 

the opportunity to participate in digital 

business. This is because the market’s 

systems enable an independent online shop 

to establish itself. However, many experts 

believe that bookstores have a long way to 

catch up in this respect. 

The intermediary market is changing

Wholesalers and intermediaries are also 

facing several changes. It is true that 

services such as transport and storage 

are no longer applicable. However, 

intermediaries have retained their 

clearing functions. In addition, they could 

also provide services such as hosting, 

conversion, storage, or delivery, and 

would be able to assume responsibility 

for optimizing processes and economic 

procedures. They might also offer contract 

clearing. 

The main challenge facing intermediaries 

is that they will also have to position 

themselves as relevant service providers 

in digital business. To do so, they would 

have to invest in technology and skills. 

Even if new services such as hosting for 

documents, conversion, eBook storage, or 

delivery of eBooks were to be added, it is 

not necessarily the case that intermediaries 

would provide these services.