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Focus on freshers

07.09.07 Alison Clements

Christmas comes early in academia. In late September, student loans land in bank accounts, and course reading lists momentarily propel students away from the bar and toward the bookshop.

Academic booksellers have been preparing for the Back-to-University (BTU) season—a six-week spending bonanza—for months, in the knowledge that turnover in many categories can double during this hectic period, compared with the rest of the year.

A captive audience of 2.3 million students in higher education (according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency), sounds like a retail dream ticket. Indeed, annual spend on academic books rose 6.1% from £180.9m in 2005 to £191.9m last year, based on figures from Nielsen BookScan's academic specialist non-fiction category.

Yet the traditional campus or college town bookshop is under intense pressure as second-hand books become more easily available through sites like AbeBooks, eBay and Amazon.

"In many ways, the UK academic market is buoyant, thanks to increased numbers embarking on both higher education and further education," says Lee Morgan, sales director at Compass Group, the specialist academic sales agency. "There is also continuing growth in lifelong learning. But at the same time, the web-enabled generation has easy access to free online information sources and, post-Net Book Agreement, consumers generally are extremely value-conscious when it comes to book buying."

Sales activator

Bricks 'n' mortar booksellers, totalling 416 outlets, are again this year running the Open Books Open Minds campaign to shore up their market share, with support from the Publishers Association through its Textbook Action Group.

With a budget of £100,000, the campaign runs throughout BTU, offering students who spend £40 or more on textbooks a free experience, from a range of 34 activities in three categories: adrenaline rush, health and beauty, and sports (see poster, opposite). The campaign is promoted through www.activateyourself.co.uk, where students register to receive their free gift; plus the PA has linked up with the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) site, yougofurther.co.uk.

"Blackwell, John Smith and Waterstone's are all participating, as well as independent bookshops and the major academic publishers," says Graham Taylor, the PA's director of educational, academic and professional publishing. "Our objectives are to make textbooks appeal to students, to raise awareness of the importance of textbooks, and to put some fun into buying them."

The campaign is just one way for traditional academic bookshops to attract today's students. As Terry Field, managing director of John Smith & Son campus stores, puts it: "The days of piling textbooks high and waiting for the spending bonanza to begin are well and truly over."

Fresh thinking

Academic booksellers dabbled with discounting a few years ago, but quickly learnt that giving books away did not improve customer loyalty or provide academic customers with what they actually need.

"The market is very, very fluid," Field says. "It's a moveable feast, and we have found that price-led promotions are simply not appropriate. Three-for-twos aren't going to work on campus when only key texts will do. You have to come up with a new idea."

Adoptions (titles chosen by lecturers as core reading for their courses) have grown in importance considerably over the past six years, and capitalising on this will be central to John Smith's BTU season 2007.

Field says: "Lecturers are increasingly key in the buying decisions of first-year students, and stocking their choices correctly directly affects BTU sales. Our store managers now play a crucial role in working with lecturers, and the relevant publishers, to build a comprehensive understanding of exactly what texts are needed for courses at their particular college. The value of the campus bookshop is diminished if the relationship between the store manager, lecturers and publishers isn't highly proactive."

Blackwell head of marketing Phill Jamieson also acknowledges the merit of store managers communicating in this way. "From around March, we begin collecting reading lists and asking college teaching staff what they expect their students to be reading," he says, "as well as talking to the leading academic publishers about important texts and potential promotions. Certainly, building strong relationships with lecturers will guarantee success over the BTU weeks."

Meanwhile, Amazon.co.uk has BTU sewn up in its own indomitable style. "It's a massive category for us, and growing year-on-year," Darren Hardy, Amazon.co.uk books manager, says. While Amazon does not have the direct contact with lecturers around the country that campus stores have, its close relationships with publishers ensure new and long-standing courses are catered for, and that recommended titles are readily available.

To capture its best possible share of the BTU spend, Amazon is running a Prepare for University promotional page, showcasing discounted texts for the new term, and, opportunistically, cut-price toasters, bicycles and music CDs. There's also a permanent Books for Study page, with special deals—up to 35% off many study guides and undergraduate course titles.

"Publishers are very good at providing us with adopted titles and reading lists, and this drives our promotions," Hardy says. "We work with them to recommend clusters of related titles they publish, or study guides that relate to key texts. From this, and using our email marketing platform, which follows up purchases with recommendations, we can suggest multi-buy offers and discounts for bundled titles."

Waterstone's is this year able to market more strongly to students through its new website. "We expect a very busy academic season," Scott Coning, Waterstone's academic books manager, says. "We are working with the relevant stores to make sure they have the books and tools they need to serve their student community." Waterstones.co.uk will have an academic hub designed to make shopping for BTU titles easy and straightforward, with some bespoke and branded promotions running alongside its academic feature.

Meanwhile John Smith will present a value offer, not by wholesale discounting, but by selling at competitive prices and also offering second-hand selections. Field says: "We moved early with buying and selling second-hand in stores, and that now sits very well with our 'great price/value options' proposition."

John Smith bookshops are evolving to become one-stop shops on campus, selling confectionery, drinks, cigarettes and food-to-go under the J S Campus brand, which has the strapline: "Learning, living, leisure." Lucy Willis, manager of John Smith at the University of Sussex, says the mix of merchandise creates visual interest and drives sales in the store at this time of year. "The last week in September is Freshers' Week here, and we will be incredibly busy. Food and drinks displays brighten up the shop and add genuine convenience for students and parents coming in that week."

J S Campus stores will open in September at the University of Paisley and University of East London in Stratford; they join outlets opened last year at the University of Abertay Dundee, and University of Greenwich, among others. Computer consumables, gifts and toiletries will be on sale alongside academic books, general titles, snacks and stationery.

Buy online, collect instore

Blackwell's reward card, to which 300,000 people have signed up, will be actively promoted during BTU. Around 100,000 new cardholders are expected to sign up between the end of August and early October, with new point-of-sale material in stores spelling out the benefits. Jamieson says: "It's a great communications tool at this time of year. We send out highly targeted marketing emails to drive online sales and store visits."

The Blackwell Connect temporary bookshops in those colleges and institutions not already served by bookshops are powering up for BTU. "Over 40 Connect sites will be trading, greatly extending our reach, growing sales and allowing campus stores [those close to the Connect sites, supplying ordered books] to benefit from additional sales," Jamieson says.

There are some select multi-buy promotions going into stores on, for example, general reference books, "but we're not doing widespread money-off promotions or 20%-off days", Jamieson says. Second-hand also has a presence in stores, he says, "adding another string to our bow and generating loyalty".

Non-book merchandise goes up a gear for BTU, too, with new ranges of stationery and academic diaries, iPods, iPod cases, speakers and USB sticks.

Blackwell's website carries the same promotions on books as are running in stores. Jamieson says: "Rather than viewing online book buying as a threat, our well-established site means we can now maximise our strengths as a multi-channel retailer. Our 'reserve online, collect instore' scheme comes into its own during BTU trading, because new students can order ahead and pick up their books on arrival at college. Having a physical presence on the campus means delivery can be free, and that's something the likes of Amazon can't offer."

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