In the era of mobile Internet, the development of digital technology has spawned new reading methods and experiences. Fragmented reading and shallow reading have become the new characteristics of this era (Naumann, 2015). The rise of mobile reading terminals with digital technology as the core and Internet as the carrier seems to make printed books lose their value as a traditional cultural carrier. At least for many cities, as the cultural carrier and cultural communication space of the Internet era expand, the role and social status of printed books and physical bookstores are gradually being subverted. However, in the wave of the collapse of a large number of physical bookstores due to technological innovation and globalization, a number of physical bookstores are constantly exploring different business formats and models. With the case of WHSmith in Swansea, this report analyses the challenges and opportunities faced by the physical bookstores.
After entering the 21st century, the impact of the Internet on people’s lives has gradually deepened. Globalization has also accelerated the rate of technology transmission and global product distribution, making new reading technologies readily available to people all over the world. With the rise of e-commerce websites such as Amazon and EBay, and consumers are increasingly inclined to a convenient and fast online shopping model. The rapid development of e-commerce has caused various industries in the physical retail industry. The advantage of e-commerce over the physical retail industry is first reflected in the price. Generally speaking, the purchase price of books is half or even lower than print books. EBook service providers like Amazon have also launched monthly subscription services that further lower the price of reading, drawing profits from other services instead of the books themselves (Shatzkin, 2017). In comparison, books in the physical bookstores are sold at the original price. This difference in price has posed serious threats to the physical books stores globally.
However, physical bookstore in the UK does not seem to be greatly affected by e-reading and online bookstores. Visiting bookstores is part of the daily life of British people. The commercial district of downtown Swansea is about 24 hectares, but there are five bookstores in the region. The largest ones among them are Water Stone’s and WH Smith, two of the UK’s most famous chain bookstores in the domestic publishing industry. Outside the city center, there are more than 20 bookstores scattered. The WHSmith bookstore in downtown Swansea is the first large-scale retailer to occupy the northwest entrance of the shopping center Quadrant Shopping Cent re. The store is L-shaped, and the other exit is not far from the Swansea bus terminal. Such bold choice of location is actually the style of most WHSmith stores.
Unlike the traditional bookstores, WHSmith has evolved into a combination of book store, magazine stand, gift shop, stationary store, and more. Since 2010, WHSmith has clearly added stationery, newspapers and other content to its main business goals. It has fully reoriented the brand to satisfy the “convenience, books and news” needs “for the world’s travelling customer” (WHSmith, 2016). In the Swansea Shopping Center, only about 1/2 of the area is for books, and the rest are all kinds of stationery, toys and small gifts. The neatly-arranged shelves and bright spotlights all reveal a straightforward shopping mall style. Their selection focuses on bestsellers in travel and food, Sudoku, celebrity biographies, and practical handbooks, as well as journals, e-readers, CDs and DVDs. Although British supermarkets and convenience stores usually sell magazines, WHSmith’s magazines are the most complete, and each has samples that have been unpacked. WHSmith has an extremely rich collection of stationery and toys, from notebooks and information kits that meet the aesthetic tastes of young people, to the books, pens and boxes that young children like.
Through observations on both weekdays and weekends, it has been found that customers in WHSmith mainly look for stationery, gifts, and magazines, instead of books to satisfy serious reading. The bookstore staff has acknowledged that the British bookstores have also declined due to the emerging digital reading. For example, twenty years ago there were seven bookstores in downtown Swansea, and now there are only five. But all of them admit that the British publishing industry and physical bookstores are indeed doing well. This is mainly because the British generally maintain the habit of reading by print. In the streets of different cities in the UK and on public transport, it is common to see people carrying books with them. Such deep-rooted reading habits undoubtedly provide a strong original motivation for physical bookstores in the UK.
Secondly, the bookstore is a public space with distinctive cultural attributes. It not only has economic consumption functions, but also carries rich cultural meanings. Through the perceptual experience and consumption practice activities in space, consumers accept the information and cultural connotations that space has transmitted, and build spatial identity and create a sense of spiritual belonging. In The Production of Space, Lefebvre (1991) considers space as a dynamic practice subject capable of self-production. The physical bookstore undoubtedly has this spatial trait that reshapes the subject experience and the cultural field. Even for chain bookstores like WHSmith, the branches maintain a high degree of community integration awareness in book selection and services. The online shopping and digital reading is no competition against the human and friendly cultural experience offered in physical bookstores.
In conclusion, although the British book industry is facing challenges from globalization and new technology, physical bookstores are actively adjusting their strategies to meet market demands. Chain stores and independent bookstores, and stores of other types have their own characteristics. Although there is competition, there is also a broad space for symbiosis and common prosperity. The physical bookstore transformation will continue to be a problem of continuous development and change in the future. Driven by science and technology, the whole publishing world is developing rapidly. In order to adapt to this era, bookstores such as WHSmith need to innovate every day, accept new business ideas, apply new technical means, and use new popular hotspots to create the high-quality reading and cultural experience. Meanwhile, such bookstores are also helping in constructing the urban cultural space of Swansea.
Leave A Comment