One year after the implementation of the new regulations imposing minimum shipping costs of 3 euros for all home deliveries of books in France, for orders less than 35 euros, what conclusions can we draw from this?
This measure aims to protect physical bookstores by making delivery costs fairer compared to online sales giants like Amazon. Read our articles here
The Impact of Regulation
To find out the French reaction to shipping costs, Amazon commissioned a study from Ifop. This survey reveals interesting points about the purchasing habits of the French and the impact of this regulation. Here are some key points.
–Purchasing practices: 75% of rural people who buy books online do so because of the distance from points of sale. This statistic highlights the importance of access to culture for populations far from urban centers.
-Purchasing power: 62% of French people feel the impact of rising shipping costs on their purchasing power. As a result, 44% of respondents read less than before.
-Inequality: The most modest categories are the most affected 51%, 59% of poor categories, compared to 28% of wealthy categories.
– Cultural budget: 19.5 million French people have had to or plan to reduce their cultural budget due to the drop in their purchasing power.
-On the used book: two-thirds of French people are against the proposal to introduce a tax on books sold second-hand (67%).
For 49% of French people who buy second-hand books, this would result in a drop in their reading, due to not being able to buy books.
Finally, readers first favor hyper/supermarkets, large brands or press houses (70%). For independent bookstores this figure drops to 26%. According to this data, shipping costs on books would have little positive impact on bookstores. It would be interesting to have the reaction of booksellers.
Solutions recommended by Amazon
Amazon wants to defend access to books at all costs for French people without a local bookstore. The online sales giant argues that mandatory shipping costs penalize rural consumers.
The reseller also suggests setting up a dedicated postal rate. This already exists for shipping books abroad. Amazon gives an example: sending a 500 gram book to London costs 1.67 euros. The same book shipped to an address in France costs four times more, namely 6.99 euros.
The battle between Amazon and traditional bookstores over shipping costs on books is far from over.
The Ifop study highlights the challenges and adaptations necessary to balance access to culture and the protection of local businesses.
As purchasing habits evolve, it will be interesting to see how this dynamic will influence the book market in France in the years to come.
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