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Walmart launches its own e-book and audio book store
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. launched its own digital bookstore Wednesday, further moving into new markets and ratcheting up competition with fellow retail giant Amazon.com Inc.
In January, Walmart partnered with Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten Inc., launching an online grocery delivery service in Japan and also offering e-readers, e-books and audiobooks to American customers. Rakuten bought Canadian e-reader brand Kobo back in 2011.
“Walmart eBooks will complement our vast physical book assortment and offer customers a comprehensive digital book solution, introducing an entirely new category that hasn’t been previously available at Walmart,” Mario Pacini, general manager of entertainment at Walmart eCommerce U.S, said in a press release.
Walmart eBooks will feature over 6 million titles of multiple genres while undercutting Amazon in some areas. The latter’s Audible service charges $14.95 per month for an audiobook subscription, while Walmart will charge $9.99 for the same service. As for e-books, as with Kindle users won’t need to buy a dedicated physical Kobo reader because there will be iOS and Android apps.
Walmart also said it will offer digital book cards in 3,500 of its stores. With these, people can buy 40 titles, including “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle, “Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” by Neil deGrasse-Tyson and “Capital Gaines” by Chip Gaines. At 1,000 of its stores, Walmart will also sell the waterproof Kobo Aura e-reader.
“Although we are a company that focuses on selling a digital product, retailers and store experiences have always been an important part of the mix in every country we operate in,” said Michael Tamblyn, Rakuten Kobo’s chief executive. “That’s why we’re excited to partner with Walmart as we grow in the U.S. market.”
Will this make a dent in Amazon’s stronghold on the U.S. e-book market? According to market statistics, Amazon has only strengthened its share of the market over the last few years. In 2017 it had an 83 percent market share, with Apple Inc. and then Barnes & Noble Inc. falling way behind.
Image: Raymond Snijders/Flickr
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