From shared bicycles, shared umbrellas, shared beds to shared books, this trend of "sharing economy" has blown into the book industry. Earlier this year, Alipay has launched express book lending and shared bookshelves in five cities across the country, and the "book borrower" who started in Harbin also provides similar new book borrowing and book sharing services across the country.

Hefei Xinhua Bookstore Sanxiaokou Store (the pictures in this article are provided by Sanxiaokou Store)

But it was hard to imagine before that this "sharing" concept would almost turn a bookstore into a library. On July 16, Sanxiaokou Store, Hefei Xinhua Bookstore, opened the "shared bookstore" business model. This 24-hour bookstore, which became an "Internet celebrity" because it was written into the 2017 Shandong College Entrance Examination Essay Questions, once again attracted the attention of public opinion.

Shared bookstore logo

The Sanxiaokou Bookstore, the Hefei Xinhua Bookstore, known as the "world's first shared bookstore", welcomed 20,000 passengers on July 16, breaking the highest record of the store's passenger flow. Manager Xu of the bookstore told reporters that about 4,000 books were borrowed that day. If calculated based on the borrowing volume of 2 books per person, about 2,000 people participated in the borrowing activity.

Readers come to Sanxiaokou Bookstore, Xinhua Bookstore in Hefei. They only need to download the "Smart Study" App and pay a deposit of 99 yuan online to enjoy two books with a single scan of code to borrow less than 150 yuan, but they need to be returned within 10 days. Readers can also display their collection of books in this APP, record the evaluation of books, and make friends with books.

"Smart Study" App Home Page Pengpai News Reporter Ruan Xuan Motu

Manager Xu also told reporters that all books in the bookstore participate in the borrowing service, including all copies, and after the loaned books are returned, they are basically used for sale or loan again. “If there is any damage, a discount may be sold or donated, and it is also a possibility to negotiate a return with the publisher.”

Readers apply for borrowing services

"The original intention of sharing books is to eliminate reading costs, lower reading thresholds, and increase reading frequency for readers." Manager Xu said that some parents will buy a lot of books for their children, but as their children grow up, these books are no longer needed by their children, causing certain waste; at the same time, young people buy bestsellers, and will not read them again after reading them once, which also causes certain waste.

Therefore, for these reasons, Anhui Xinhua Distribution Group decided to enable the "shared bookstore" model to promote the effective use of book resources and to urge everyone to read through the borrowed time period.

Bookstores are crowded on July 16

When asked whether "shared books" or book lending services would affect book sales in bookstores, Manager Xu said that there is such a possibility, but he believes that book lending services have similar nature to 24-hour bookstore services, and that bookstores do their best to provide readers with the convenience they can.

However, it is not ruled out that the borrowing service can attract readers to bookstores. The Sanxiaokou Bookstore, Hefei Xinhua Bookstore, has an operating area of ​​4,000 square meters. The space of 8 floors carries a variety of business formats including books and coffee. Perhaps the customer flow brought by the borrowing service can also increase the transaction volume of other business formats.

Although the Sanxiaokou Bookstore in Hefei Xinhua Bookstore is very large, it is not considered the largest bookstore in Hefei. Compared with Anhui Book City, which has a complete range of books, Sanxiaokou Bookstore's book category is more concentrated in public reading.

Manager Xu said that the bookstore also hopes to better understand its readers through "shared books" and the information shared by users on the APP, and hopes to deeply explore readers' reading interests, etc., so as to hold more appropriate reading activities and lectures in the future.

Bookstore furnishings

In addition to borrowing services, bookstores also provide certain borrowing rewards. For example, readers will receive a 8% reading scholarship for the deposit after reading 12 books within three months, and will receive a reward of 1 yuan for each book you read.

If the "shared bookstore" model can eventually be recognized by readers, then Anhui Xinhua Distribution Group may gradually introduce this business model in other bookstores under its jurisdiction. So everything remains to be tested by readers and time.

Event time: August 11-13, 2017

Event location: Shenzhen Nanfang United Hotel

Activity object

Chairman, General Manager, Boss of Small and Medium Enterprises, Project Founder and Initiator

Activity Requirements

Attend in formal wear, bring company and project information, register in advance, and airborne is not allowed!

Consultation phone number

0755-2227 5752