Surprising Phenomenon: Book Sales Increased when the Whole World is Embracing Virtual!

 Dear Friends and Students

Interesting! Samsung Electronics is a South Korean company and the most trusted brand. It holds 1St Rank in the Top 10 Best Mobile Phone Brands in the World with 31.38% Global Market Share (as of 2019). On the other side, Kyobo Book Centre, the largest bookstore chain in Korea, witnessed a 7.3 percent increased in sales between Jan. 1 and Dec. 6 2020 compared to the previous year. YES24 (major online bookstore) saw 23 percent book sales increase for the last year.

As per Publisheresweekly.com, Unit sales of print books were up 6.4% in the first nine months of 2020. My First Learn-to-Write Workbook by Crystal Radke, sold almost 595,000 copies. Robin Diangelo’s White Fragility sold more than 777,000 copies. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins sold close to 1.1 million copies.

Bloomsbury had predicted that its print revenues could fall up to 75% due to coronavirus, but print sales actually rose by 9%. Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury reported a 28% growth in consumer sales in the four months ending in June 2020 (www.theguardian.com). The U.S. print book market is up 5.5% over the same time period in 2019 (www.npd.com)

Looking into these statistics, I personally feel, if sweet is kept in the dessert course, people relish the lunch. If sweet becomes the lunch, people reject it. Virtual is Sweet and Book is Lunch! This fact is driving towards blended mode. 

Once Covid's situation gets normal, people go back to physical-virtual mode. End of the day, Education cannot be taught completely online. Students need to engage in discussions, have social interactions, and better communicate among groups. This makes a complete education. This is not possible in total virtual mode.

Katrina Mayer (writer) says a book is a magical thing that lets you travel to far-away places without ever leaving your chair! Yes, it is true. The same is not possible with smart device reading. Reading on paper may boost retention. Paper suits readers with sleep problems and eye strain.

Reading is a conversation. All books talk but a good book listens as well (Mark Haddon). 

Did you experience this?

Your well-wisher

Ravi Saripalle

Join Inspire to Innovate Storytelling Movement (i2itm.blogspot.com)

Source Inspiration: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2021/01/142_301806.html