Nate Richards, manager of Dicksons Bible & Book Store in Highland Park, Mich., is proactively selling Bible software to his customers. He set up a computer in his store, put Bible software on it and personally shows his customers how to use it. His software sales have jumped from nothing to an average of 2%-3% of his overall sales.

“Software has become a significant category in my store,” Richards said. “You’d be amazed at how many people don’t know these time-saving tools are available.”

The market potential is there—eight out of 10 people who walk into your store have a PC or laptop computer. Regarding competition, Christian software is a category that only Christian retailers offer. There is no competition with Sam’s Club, Barnes & Noble or Wal-Mart in this category.

Additionally, many Christian software publishers offer a frontliner training program to educate your staff on how to use the software. Many times these programs will provide your frontliners with a free or reduced-price copy of the software for their own personal use. This is a win-win for Christian retailers. The frontliner becomes more knowledgeable, confident and enthusiastic in selling the product and, as a result, sales increase.

Software is a high-dollar, high-margin category in Christian retail that can make a difference in your profits. Christian retailers need more of these types of categories to help them stay viable. 

Selling software takes effort, just like selling a Bible or reference book. Having trained frontliners, offering a good selection, defining your category and properly merchandising products will give you the results you need to increase your overall bottom line.

Marianne Gelski has been in Christian software publishing for 22 years and serves as vice president of retail channels for WORDsearch Corp. She can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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