Digital platform could build on ‘unique trust,’ says summit briefing paper released by CBA

As discussions continue about an industry-wide platform for delivering e-books to Christian stores, CBA has released the briefing paper that helped launch the initiative.

An industry task force looking at how retailers may be helped to find a toehold in the growing digital book market was launched at the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in St. Louis.

Representatives of leading stores and marketing groups, publishers and point-of-sale service providers have been talking about the best way Christian retailers could make e-books available to their shoppers online or in-store.

One option under consideration is the IndieCommerce, white-label e-commerce platform serving general market independent bookstores, from Ingram—parent company of Spring Arbor (SA).

Following ICRS, CBA published the document that formed the basis of talks at the Digital Summit held during the June 27-30 event.

The 14-page report—available at CBA’s Web site, www.cbaonlione.org/documents/DigitalSummitBriefingFin.pdf—said that the growth of e-book sales, estimated to increase 5-10% annually for the next few years, threatened the viability of Christian stores as a source for book buying.

The document expressed concern that some stores might abandon the category prematurely, as had happened with the digital revolution in music—though physical sales of music had not declined as much as some had predicted. The same give-up scenario with books “would dramatically change the face of the channel and the nature of Christian stores.”

Advocating a channel-wide solution, the paper noted that Christian stores have “a unique position of trust to recommend, educate and connect with customers that can’t be matched online.”

CBA Executive Director Curtis Riskey told Christian Retailing in July that, working with the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, there was “consensus from leading retailers and publishers that it would be of value to explore whether or not there is a possible cooperative solution that would enable publishers to sell e-books through Christian stores.”

He added: “We believe there is concern among retailers and publishers that the rapid growth of e-books could seriously cannibalize sales from stores and significantly affect Christian-stores.” The task force was a forum “to discuss options and possibilities and whether or not there could be an alternative for loyal Christian-store consumers to buy e-books through their favorite stores.”

According to the International Federation of Phonographic Industry, Riskey said, digital music sales had “skyrocketed” more than 940% since 2004, while overall music revenues declined approximately 30% “meaning people are buying less music.”