With more online shoppers and the closing of brick-and-mortar businesses, a trend has expanded for online businesses over the last few years. Subscription-based merchandising has allowed customers to obtain products at specified intervals for discounted prices, direct to their location. We investigated the book industry and found that the increased interest in eBooks is due to the availability of virtual subscriptions, like Kindle Unlimited and Audible.
EBook sales increase
There is a high demand for books. Most avid readers spend anywhere from $100 to over $500 on physical books according to a poll by Book Riot. Subscription services like Kindle Unlimited and Audible have increased due to the unavailability of open book stores or libraries and the convenience of accessing books online.
With subscription services, millions of books are available for a small monthly fee with unlimited access and reading times. During the last year, the competition for subscriptions has increased, and demands have been placed on traditional publishers for eBook copies of titles to be released. Kindle Unlimited was offering two months free with subscriptions and Smashwords created Smashwords Presale, which allows subscribers to obtain new releases before they go on sale.
McGraw-Hill said their digital sales had increased by 18% over the 2019 figures. According to eSchool News children have doubled their eBook reading between fall 2019 and fall 2020. Good E-Reader reported that the US saw an increase of 20.4% on sales of eBooks in October 2020. The popularity of eBooks has been on the rise for some time, making major strides in recent years.
Big Business Boosts
Businesses that went from selling individual books to subscription-based libraries have seen an increase in revenue over the last few years. Most notable is the Kindle Unlimited revenue with an increase of around 25% over 2019. Offering a subscription with unlimited and continued book access has increased consumer happiness. The average cost of an eBook is between $0.99 and $5, and the average subscription ranges between $10 and $15. Value is increased in the ability to return books that are not liked, without losing money or leaving home.
Offering a digital version of a book makes receiving the book instantaneous, rather than waiting for shipping or going to a retail store. The instant nature of eBooks and the availability of the newest books through subscription has increased interest and therefore increased revenue. This can be seen in the sales of subscription increases over 2020 as approximately 30% more people have turned to the eBook industry for the entertainment of the whole family.
Kindle Direct Publishing, which feeds in to the Kindle Unlimited subscriptions, is where authors can self-publish their works and have them immediately available to the subscribed public. The revenue of the service reached over $300 million in sales from eBooks read through Kindle Unlimited services according to Publisher’s Weekly. Of that revenue, 30% goes to Amazon for their services, the other 70% directly to the author. With the ability for any author to publish directly to Kindle Unlimited, the sales have increased dramatically on subscriptions to obtain books that are not available on any other platform.
How subscriptions boost businesses
Transitioning to subscriptions over one-time buy products increases customer satisfaction and increases return for more products. Customers like being able to order once and have the product delivered on a regular basis.
Software for subscriptions must be able to control inventory, accept recurring payments, and supply physical and/or digital goods for payments given. Not all business technologies are able to execute the necessary solutions to keep subscribers engaged. MaxQ Technologies offers a suite of software designed to keep control of inventory, payments, and billing that aid in keeping subscription-based businesses.
Having the ability to manage supplies and products that are the most popular keeps businesses ahead of the subscriptions, allowing them to meet shipping deadlines without running out of product. With multiple financial applications to aid in first and reoccurring payments, MaxQ Technology pairs this with advanced analytics and insights into your business trends.
Run promotions with effective date-based pricing and bundle subscription services for discounts with this powerful software suite. Processing subscription renewals is a snap and can be set up to automatically or manually renewed at the same or different prices. Let MaxQ Technologies give you the tools to grow your subscription-based business.
