HOW TO SOLVE CHAOS ON THE SHELVES?
Last week I posted a picture showing the challenges that publishers face in many of Thailand bookshops, and wrote about the constant battle for space and attention.
Here is another one, taken last weekend at one of central Bangkok's mainly Thai language stores. This was just one of four similar displays, and although I've not counted them there are easily more than 200 different publications in this image alone. You cannot even see the masthead of most of these magazines, let alone the cover story or contents. Impulse purchases are highly unlikely.
What's the solution? Should shops only stock the best selling (most popular) titles? Should magazines be charged for the space they occupy with premium positions attracting a premium charge, regardless of whether copies are sold? Shops are paid a percentage of the cover price of each magazine sold, so it's in their interest to sell more. No sales equals no income.
5 comments:
There's no solution. To the staff of the bookstore I guarantee they don't see the problem and wouldn't understand if you explained it to them.
Thai websites are designed the same way; no respect for the principles of user interface design and no effort to think about the customer and how they may find the information (or in your example, magazine) they are looking for.
There MUST be a solution, Leosia. I accept and agree with the points you make because I've had the kinds of conversations you mention myself (more sales = more money for everyone).
Perhaps it needs someone with fresh eyes (and likely from outside the industry) to come in and shake everything up. Then again .. that's not likely to happen and is just wishful thinking on my part.
Removing old copies would be a partial solution. Often, there are 2-3 different editions of the same magazine side-by-side.
Mat.
Yes Mat, that frustrates the hell out of me. I think having old copies on sale only devalues a magazine brand by making it seem outdated, but I also know some publishers that like the fact they get the additional exposure.
Personally, I can't be bothered by the mess on the magazine shelves. I kind of like it. You never know what you might find in an old issue.
But, what I don't like are the bookstores that don't sort their books properly.
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