BookPeople gift card program, new research

BookPeople launched its new gift cards program last month, selling both digital and physical cards which can be redeemed at BookPeople member bookshops and Collins and Dymocks shops across Australia.

The BookPeople Gift Cards supersede the Australian Book Vouchers, which remain valid until their expiry date. BookPeople CEO Robbie Egan said the goal is to build a scheme like the UK’s National Book Tokens.

Information about the program for booksellers can be found here.

BookPeople also recently commissioned research into ‘the state of Australia’s imagination’ and the role reading plays in fostering creativity, which found that Australians’ use of imagination is in decline. While nine out of 10 respondents acknowledged that imagination is important, one in 10 reported ‘rarely or never’ getting to use their imagination.

In response to this research, and the ABS finding children are reading less for pleasure and for less time, Egan said this trend is ‘deeply problematic for our industry’.

‘As a glass half-full person I think there is an opportunity for bookshops to be a major part of the solution here,’ Egan said. ‘Though it may not seem it from the outset, if we can build our BookPeople Gift Cards into a sizeable part of the market then we keep readers (and the people who gift them) inside our industry and away from the ubiquity of screens. Australian book retailers are battling global behemoths and discount department stores in a market that is extremely asymmetrical. We can’t win by being bigger—we win by being better and by finding ways to work together.’

Category: Local news