From single paper book purchases to eco-friendly second-hand book transactions, to diversified forms of online reading, rich reading methods create a new cultural experience for consumers.

April 4 is World Book Day. Surveys show that older people like to read, and people with higher education and income are more likely to be "addicted" to reading. How has the way people read today changed? How should the market meet the increasingly diverse reading needs of readers?

Sell paper books and sell services

According to the results of the 2022th National National Reading Survey in 2021, the per capita number of paper books read by adult citizens in China in 4 was 76.2020, higher than 4.70 in 45; 6.2020% of adult citizens tended to "take a paper book and read", an increase of 2.2 percentage points over <>.

Although online reading methods are emerging one after another, paper books still have a wide reading group, and physical bookstores are still the spiritual home of many urban people. Located on the North Bund in Shanghai, CCHTU Bookstore is the only bookstore in Shanghai with a river view. Chen Yanping, a white-collar worker working in a foreign company, likes to read books here on weekend afternoons and "feels that life has slowed down." Although the bookstore also integrates diversified products such as cultural creativity and light food catering, the readers who come here mainly read. "The books here are rich and well-categorized, and although there are many bestseller lists on e-commerce platforms, I still use to come to bookstores to choose books." Chen Yanping said.

The market is changing, and so are consumer needs. For physical bookstores, selling only best-selling books can no longer meet people's diversified needs, what CCB does is to give full play to the advantages of product selection, highlight the characteristics, and accurately match the needs of readers. For example, CCB has been committed to the dissemination of red culture for a long time, and has continuously dug deep into the biographical content of characters, and continued to launch thematic character exhibitions, realizing the unity of brand benefits, social benefits and economic benefits.

Another major feature of CCB is that it gathers high-quality cultural resources and provides cultural services. The reading club held here often invites well-known cultural scholars from Shanghai to give lectures and exchanges, and readers only need to buy a book in the store to participate through the official account. Since its launch, the event has been well received and the basic venue is full. Chen Jiajia, director of cultural consulting at CCIC Bookstore, told reporters that in order for offline physical bookstores to achieve sustainable development, they must change the thinking mode of simply selling books or selling goods, and create cultural services with books as the core.

Like the China Construction Investment Bureau, many specialty bookstores have positioned themselves as cultural service enterprises. This kind of bookstore pays more attention to the creation of taste, and is committed to opening up more public cultural services, rather than blindly expanding the store. Ai Limin, chairman of the China Book Publishing Industry Association, said that in the current all-media environment, physical bookstores can no longer be places that simply sell cultural products, but should become windows for the dissemination of scientific knowledge and cultural education.

New books and old books are wonderful

In recent years, the second-hand book market has ushered in explosive growth and gradually become a new trend in the field of book consumption.

In Beijing Catch Fish Bookstore, there is no promotion, no promotion, rich and casual book display, all up to readers to discover. "Although it is a second-hand item, each book has been carefully cared for, remolded and looks clean." "Even the furniture here is second-hand, with creaky wooden floors, which gives it an eco-friendly feel." "Picking second-hand books is more about finding the fun of Taobao." After interviewing a number of readers, the reporter found that they showed a strong sense of identification with the purchase of second-hand books, and liked to associate the purchase of second-hand books with the concept of green consumption. From the consignment side, putting unwanted books into second-hand bookstores for consignment not only avoids waste, but also gives books a second life, forming a positive cycle.

In the past, China's second-hand book market was mainly concentrated near universities, and physical stores were scarce, small in scale, and lagging in information, unable to meet market demand. With the emergence of a large number of second-hand book online trading platforms, Confucius Used Book Network, Multicatch Fish Platform, etc. are all second-hand book trading platforms with a certain scale, expanding the trading scope and trading group of second-hand books.

Wei Ying, founder of the multi-catch fish platform, said that the vigorous development of China's circular economy can be seen from the second-hand book market. The cycle of books, unlike other objects, is a transmission of culture. For some groups, especially students, who are in high demand and price-sensitive, everyone can get more reading opportunities by buying second-hand books.

Wei Ying also found that the gap between the price of e-books and paper books is narrowing, and there is a gap between the reading experience and paper books. At the level of users' consumption psychology, they prefer that they spend money to buy tangible things, so they have a stronger tendency to pay. Wei Ying believes that the second-hand book market has certain potential and development space. The state pays more and more attention to the promotion of environmental protection policies, which also provides strong support for the development of the second-hand book market.

Will the hot second-hand book market affect new book sales? Industry insiders analyzed that new books and old books, the two are complementary relationships. There are always people who want new books, and there are always people who need second-hand books. Moreover, many second-hand books are scarce resources that have gone out of print, and opening up the second-hand book market can provide readers with more choices.

Online reading calls for excellence

With the iterative upgrading of Internet technology, the reading methods of Chinese residents have become more diverse. Data released by some platforms shows that consumers' reading preferences have changed, and e-books and audiobooks have become the first choice for many people. The online audiovisual industry is also building momentum for reading. The "China Network Audiovisual Development Research Report (2023)" pointed out that online audiovisual is no longer just a means of entertainment, but has begun to become a channel for people to obtain information and learn knowledge, and short video users with the need to watch news and learn knowledge account for more than 30%.

However, the reading content on the Internet is muddy and mixed, which causes great trouble to readers. "I usually choose some more professional reading platforms, such as Zhihu, Fan Shu, etc., after paying to become a member, I can not only read a lot of high-quality content, but also participate in some offline activities." Wei Wei, a reader in Beijing, said.

Internet content platforms have become an increasingly popular way to read books, and modern people are willing to pay for high-quality e-books. Data show that by the end of 2022, the average number of monthly paid members of Zhihu reached 1300 million, and the annual paid membership income exceeded 4 million yuan. The benefit of Zhihu paid members is that they can read a lot of content for free.

Readers choose online reading platforms because the content choices here are more diverse. Taking Zhihu as an example, the reading content included in the paid membership benefits is very rich, including electronic versions of classic masterpieces, such as "The Three-Body Problem", "A Brief History of Mankind", and "Mo Yan's Strange Story Collection" released exclusively by Zhihu in 2022; There are also original content produced by platform users, as well as columns, novels, etc., including domestic and foreign journals, magazines, papers, etc. Among them, the short and high-quality original story content on the platform is very popular with member users. In addition to serious content, entertainment consumption has gradually become a new trend.

At present, the mass media is developing rapidly, in addition to text, audio, video, famous teachers and other roundtable discussions have become people's unique way of reading. In 2022, starting from high-quality original content on the platform, Zhihu planned the dialogue program "Wilderness Talks", focusing on the spiritual life of contemporary people, attracting the attention and discussion of young people on the whole network, and the number of views exceeded 4 million. On this year's 23.<> World Book Day, Zhihu carried out a special plan - "Before Tomorrow" cross-border talk, inviting young artists from all walks of life to exchange ideas. For contemporary people, in the face of a rapidly developing world, to experience, to participate in, to discuss is also a kind of reading.

Zhang Ning, vice president of strategy and head of community business of Zhihu, said that in the face of a diversified and multi-form online reading environment, all online content platforms should assume social responsibility, provide more high-quality content, jointly promote the development of the industry, and meet the content consumption needs of the majority of users. Zhihu will also adhere to the "ecological first" strategy, continue to invest in content construction, and build a high-quality discussion and reading field.

Jiang Tianjiao