The changing face of academic bookselling

How to survive

There are many changes occurring in the learning content ecosystem worldwide and although each country has its own unique issues to deal with, digital migration and a growth in open educational resources (OER) are universal.

Learnings from Canada

Tony Ellis, the vice president of industry advancement for the National Association of College Stores (NACS) in the Canada, recently published a study entitled Mapping the Learning Content Ecosystem, which focuses on developing a higher ed course-content strategy, The publication has caused some debate and what is nice about it is that it places the academic bookseller at the very heart of the debate.

“Campus stores offer more than traditional print textbooks – and have for quite some time,” says Ellis in a comment to an article on his research on tonybates.ca

“They have continually adapted to emerging needs, offering a variety of course materials – including printed and digital editions, OER, and courseware – to meet the needs of today’s students while recognizing and investing in the shift to digital. Their ability to evolve and meet the course content needs of their institutions make campus stores a natural collaborator with administrators and other campus colleagues when discussions occur about the future of course materials.”

The crux of his analysis is something that one would hope many institutions will take note of. “Campus store professionals have deep knowledge of all course material formats and delivery mechanisms as well as years of experience managing and sourcing multiple content providers,” he says.

“This is why we believe they should play a key role in making decisions about course materials and related services supporting student success in the future. Their knowledge, and passion for serving students, is a significant institutional asset that should be tapped by administrators when exploring delivery models and options for sourcing and providing course materials – in whatever form.”

The analysis also says that institutions should expect and plan for the shift to digital with content creators, producers and distributors proliferating.

In the distribution channel, conditions will continue to favour giants with pricing negotiation leverage but that there is also space for smaller niche academic booksellers “who can use localized customer, campus and industry knowledge to better serve students.”

“Concierge services” that the traditional bookseller is so good at, can guide students through content options and match those options to a student’s profile. It’s an example of value-added, personal assistance that smaller retailers can provide. This, says Ellis, should also be translated into an online service where possible.

A multidimensional approach will be required by the academic institutions in order for the transition to be successful, says Ellis. “Changes in learning content and services will intersect with academic policy, technology, student privacy, teaching, instructional costs, course materials accessibility, incentives, revenue management, and more. Developing an effective strategy needs to include all relevant campus stakeholders and service providers.”

“In deciding what’s best, administrators, campus store leaders, IT staff, libraries and faculty should work together to come up with recommendations.” Expand Ellis.

Factors that should be considered include:

The desired level of faculty and other campus-stakeholder involvement in creating learning content
Copyright, fair use, licensed use and compliance in an increasingly “open” world
Third-party solutions that may expand options for students and provide scalability but limit an institution’s control over content, pricing, revenues and service
Students wanting to buy and access course materials through their phones or tablets
Students’ ability to use financial aid to purchase materials

College stores disrupted in the United States

An article on Publishers Weekly titled College Stores—and the Businesses That Serve Them—in a Time of Change quotes Jonathan Shar, chief marketing officer for Akademos, saying the pace of the transition to digital platforms has begun accelerating. “In the last 18 months, we’ve launched more virtual bookstores than in the entire history of the company,” he said. Academos works with colleges in the US to provide a virtual bookstore and marketplace where students can get their textbooks

The article continues, saying that Barnes & Noble Education, which operates 770 campus stores in the US purchased the assets of digital educational platform LoudCloud Systems in March last year to better position itself in the digital products and services market. Following the acquisition, B&NE shut its own digital platform, Yuzu.

“Amazon has been among the biggest disrupters. It now owns 23% of the college-textbook market according to data from NACS. And ever since it first tested working with a college store, launching a partnership with the UC Davis Bookstore in November 2013, the e-tailer has become an increasingly visible presence on campus.”

By the end of 2016, Amazon will have 18 pickup locations in 17 college communities.

What of South Africa?
Here in South Africa we face similar problems but they sit within unique parameters.

Mohamed Kharwa of Provisions Bookstores which is located just outside of the UNISA campus in Durban, says that “Booksellers are generally an optimistic bunch but there is a great deal of uncertainty. In the last few years, while there has been extensive Fees Must Fall protests, the worst of it focused on the latter part of the year after the peak bookselling period. As a result the impact was a little less than it could have been on most campuses.
The fear is that it will only take 1 institution to initiate a protest at the start of the year for it to become a national problem. So for 1st semester we are very concerned about possible protest action. Also we are not sure if University Staff may or may not have wage negotiation protests.”

When there is protest action on Campus it can be negative as operating costs remain, with no revenue earned during this time. This also excludes any damage to property.

Another unique South African problem, says Mohamed, are suppliers (not booksellers) who pitch up, often without permission, and discount only the most popular titles on/just off campus. “They have a model that does not support a sustainable bookselling environment or any follow up service.”

Pater Adams of Adams Bookstore says that students still like the convenience of shopping on campus.

“They like to see their books and they don’t like the delivery delays associated with online shopping,” he says.

“However, where the price is markedly lower we are sure they would go online so we have to be price competitive. Our online sales are good.”

Van Schaik Bookstore is used to setting the benchmark for excellence in its field, says Stephan Erasmus, MD for Van Schaik Bookstore. “When we repositioned the brand as far back as 2011, we introduced ourselves as a knowledge navigator – somebody that students could partner with on their journey to knowledge and future success. We shifted our focus so that it is all about helping students to get ahead, by growing their knowledge, creating opportunities and leading the way.

“With this in mind, we launched our Rewards Card in 2015 – quite a milestone for an academic textbook supplier and a great way to reward our customers. It has been exceptionally well received, and to date, our Rewards Card membership numbers have grown to over 100 000,” Erasmus explains.

This year, in a bold move, Van Schaik Mobile has launched itself as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), providing cellular services, one would assume mostly to students, throughout South Africa. It provides its own branded SIM card, called the Van Schaik SIM, and offers competitive rates in the local cellular market.

Van Schaik has also started a Media business allowing advertisers to market via the Van Schaik Rewards App. The Van Schaik Rewards App allows users to receive adverts on their cell phone screens every time they unlock the phone. This offers a great opportunity for advertisers to promote products, do surveys and create brand awareness to a targeted group of customers.

“The launch kicked off as part of Van Schaik’s annual first semester campaign. When customers spend R750 or more, they will get a new SIM card with 300MB of free data. Current Rewards Members will be able to qualify as well, but without having to make a purchase first – all they need to do is to go into a bookstore, and swop their old Rewards Card for a new SIM card. The SIM card will function just like a normal SIM card, and students will be able to load airtime and data as they need it.

“Once the SIM is RICA-certified (which customers can do in-store) and activated, users will be prompted to download the free Van Schaik Rewards App onto their android phones via a link. Once downloaded, each customer will register and create a unique, customised profile by selecting different topics of interest that they wish to receive information on. This can range from fashion and beauty, to sport, celeb news, what’s on in their area, and more importantly information relevant to the courses they are studying.

“The new App makes the lock screen on android phones a source to view, and enjoy interesting content, and at the same time, reward the user with points every time they interact with the lock screen, which includes simply unlocking their screen.”

“In the digital age, staying connected is a vital part of life – our aim is to make connectivity accessible to everybody,” says Erasmus.

“We aim to cater to the ‘need for immediate gratification’ intrinsic in the youth culture – ensuring that there’s no waiting around to accumulate tangible credits before you can redeem them. We will be collaborating with a number of partners to make the content, offers, freebies and deals as beneficial and interesting as possible, as well as being able to offer students the ability to immediately reap the rewards of their interactions with the app. What’s more, is that Van Schaik Bookstore will be giving away a 300MB of free data to the first 100 000 students who register.”

The ingenuity behind this particular strategy is that Van Schaik is able to reward students with money obtained from the adverts that they interact with. This earnings is paid into the student’s virtual wallet on the Van Schaik Rewards App and can be spent on Data, Airtime and any other product, such as books, sold in a Van Schaik Bookstore.

Jessica Faircliff.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/72133-the-college-bookstore-disrupted.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly&utm_campaign=4de8e48ad2-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0bb2959cbb-4de8e48ad2-305312341

http://www.rnews.co.za/article/12135/van-schaik-rewards-app-to-be-launched-soon

https://www.universitybusiness.com/article/developing-higher-ed-course-content-strategy

https://www.nacs.org/