It has been tough for the newspaper, book and stationery retailing industry in Australia to read the market over the past five years, according to new research from IbisWorld.
The specialist trading landscape enjoyed by industry operators for a number of decades has undergone notable change.
IbisWorld industry analyst, Claudia Burgio-Ficca, says retailers are experiencing increased competition from department stores and supermarkets eager to attract a share of the market.
"The increasing number of consumers reading newspapers online has affected newspaper circulations, while traditional book sales have suffered from online shopping sites offering products at competitive prices and the popularity of e-books over hardback and paperback versions," Burgio-Ficca says.
"These factors have combined to reduce industry sales by an annualised 0.6 per cent over the five years through 2012-13.
Industry trading conditions were also affected by trends in real household disposable income, consumer sentiment, internet connections and demand for online shopping."
Sales for the newspaper, book and stationery retailing industry in Australia are expected to post modest growth of one per cent to $9.35 billion over 2012-13.
Retailers will continue to face a challenging environment as the industry moves closer to a transition from traditional bricks-and-mortar stores to online operation.
“Sales will also be affected by the flow on effects of the Federal Government's carbon pricing plan, which is expected to lead to a rise in the price of books, newspapers and magazines,” Burgio-Ficca added.
Goods retailed by the industry may also be purchased from a range of operators such as department stores, supermarkets and online stores.
Newspaper, book and stationery retailers will enter a new phase over the next five years, with sales forecast to increase.
During this period, the industry will evolve and transform, with online sales accounting for a larger share of the market.
Despite continued competition from external players, e-books are expected to come of age and account for a growing share of the industry.
The fragmented nature of newspaper, books and stationery retailing has led to low market share concentration for the industry over the past five years.
Despite the existence of long established players with a significant network of stores, many other players are small, private companies, often operating from a single location.
As a result, the industry has become increasingly polarised, with many small retailers at one end of the spectrum and a few larger firms at the other.
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