Developing interactive
digital course materials is the best recourse for textbook publishers to regain
sales lost to rentals and used books, said a recent report from research firm
McKinsey & Co.
McKinsey’s
three-year study of the college textbook market showed a steady rise in the
number of copies rented by students, accompanied by a slide in the volume of
used textbooks bought. Sales of new textbooks also took a hit during that time,
but were partly bolstered by purchases to stock rental programs.
By 2018,
McKinsey predicted, rentals and used books will each account for 30% of college
textbooks, while new books will slip to 26%. Plain-Jane e-books will get 5% and
“no buy” options such as sharing with a friend, borrowing from a library, or
pirating content will make up the remaining 9%.
Although
McKinsey acknowledged that custom textbooks have helped some publishers hang
onto sales, “the custom-publishing market is already quite mature, which means
that growth opportunities are limited,” the report said.
“The larger
opportunity for publishers lies in the creation of dynamic digital-learning
resources,” the report noted, adding, “Time is not on the side of textbook
publishers. They face a near-term competitive threat from the rental market,
even as they serve a customer base that is increasingly dominated by digital
natives.”