France is taking measures to support independent bookstores and less popular book titles. In a unanimous decision on January 8, the French Senate approved a bill that limits online discounts to five percent of the book price, and permits free shipping only if the total amount saved does not cross the five percent threshold, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Consequently, online giants like Amazon.com will lose part of their advantage when competing with smaller businesses.

The French book market is the second largest in Europe and the fifth-largest worldwide, Internet Retailer noted. While independent store operations accounted for more sales than ecommerce, the source reported, they were down 28.5 percent since 2003. 

Overall, 5.3 percent of France's purchases happen online, which makes it the third leading European country in terms of ecommerce. However, even though high street retail has suffered under the financial crisis and a disappointing holiday season, the French bill does not necessarily indicate a trend in the European retail industry to discourage online shopping. Rather, France has a history of treating book sales with special attention. Since 1981, France has singled out books as a "cultural exception," worthy of separate pricing rules, Bloomberg noted. The new law aims to make sure all books are held to the same guidelines, regardless of the purchasing channel.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, January 10th, 2014 at 5:51 am .