The popularity of online retailers threatens the profitability of traditional retailers. This is because traditional retailers generally have greater overhead than online retailers. To compensate for this competitive disadvantage, traditional retailers may be pressured to implement measures that assure them of higher profit margins. Publishing is a good example of an industry that has been profoundly affected by online retailing. Online retailing has significantly increased the number of competitors in the publishing industry. Traditional retail channels in the publishing industry consist of book stores and big-box retailers. Online retailing has created several other channels for consumers to purchase books. Most publishers sell directly to consumers through their websites. Publishers also sell wholesale to other online retailers. Online retailing even enables consumers to be competitors by selling their used books. The increase in competition presented by online retailing has made it difficult for traditional retailers to remain competitive, as illustrated by the bankruptcy of Borders. In religious publishing, “brick and mortar” Christian bookstores have almost disappeared. Continue reading “Antitrust Concerns in Publishing” →
