d free delivery.  Robbie Egan, CEO of the Australian Booksellers Association, told Inside Retail that Book Depository had inflicted significant damage on the local bookselling industry over the years. He asserted that the company took advantage of free postage and currency induced price anomalies – in particular, during the mining boom when the Australian dollar was strong. He also said that Book Depository’s utilisation of the Universal Postal Union agreement meant that Australian taxpayers subsidised Book Depository’s business model.  Following the closure of Book Depository, Egan believes that the time is right for Australian bookstores to develop curated spaces and experiences, as a means of competing with online booksellers. He maintained that patrons enjoy browsing in beautiful bookshops that offer an atmosphere that is free of transactional pressures. “Our members are much more engaged online than ever, but we are a social and narrative species,” Egan said. “I reject the idea that the only story we have to tell is that we seek ways to purchase goods and services at the lowest price.” He added that some readers would likely purchase directly from parent company Amazon once Book Depository closes, while others would re-evaluate their book buying habits. This is because readers are “promiscuous customers,” who buy from different places and support different businesses for a range of different reasons. Egan added that bricks and mortar bookshops are unique settings in that the majority of customers don’t have a purchase in mind. Rather, they use the space “for inspiration, for calm, as places of discovery.” “I believe the ‘shop local’ message has been processed and many consumers are happy to contribute their hard earned money to sustaining jobs and businesses where they live. [Covid-19] also showed us how much we love to socialise and be around other people,” he said. A very different approach A spokesperson for Booktopia – Australia’s largest online bookstore –  said that the company expected traffic and sales to increase following the closure of Book Depository. The brand said that books continue to be in high demand, and the category has experienced continued growth in recent years.  “We sell over eight million items per year and see a big opportunity to scale further,” Booktopia told Inside Retail. The company also referenced the closure of Angus & Robertson and Borders in 2011, where Booktopia’s revenue immediately jumped by 20 per cent in the months following. This provides an indication of the commercial opportunity that might be present for the online book retailer, in the absence of Book Depository. The brand added that different aspects of the bookstore and bookselling industry would benefit, while others would lose as a result of  Book Depository’s closure. Those that fall into the latter category might include book buyers and authors – who might feel disadvantaged because Book Depository offers free shipping all over the world. “[But] a key benefit is that it provides a greater opportunity for Australian-owned booksellers like Booktopia to capture a greater market share and help provide a highly-curated and bespoke experience specifically tailored to the Australian book-buying audience,” the spokesperson said. They added that Amazon likely enjoyed having the perception of a competitor in Book Depository, with many customers not aware of the fact that it was owned by Amazon. According to the spokesperson, a key difference between the two companies is its focus on “titles that customers in Australia and New Zealand want to order. “ “This new landscape provides a great opportunity for Australian book buyers to support local and buy from an Australian business,” the spokesperson said. In terms of supporting the local industry, one of the things that Booktopia’s distribution division, BPS, is actively working on is international distribution and shipping partnerships that enable Australian authors and publishers to continue to have access to overseas markets as they have been used to. “For online booksellers like Booktopia, we have the opportunity to demonstrate the unique value propositions that customers are unable to find elsewhere through our national scale,” they said. Maintaining diversity Former head of merchandising at Booktopia Joanna Lewin believes that the closure of Book Depository won’t have the same impact on the local bookstore industry in Australia as it will in the UK and US. This is because local purchases from Book Depository have been waning, with more consumers purchasing Amazon Prime memberships, and buying through that channel. She asserted that Book Depository consumers would likely transfer to Amazon or Booktopia for their book buying needs. “Amazon is growing at a fast pace in Australia, so I don’t think customers are going to transfer from [Book Depository] to bricks-and-mortar [retailers]. They’re more likely to transfer to another online retailer. With that said, Big W (one of the biggest players in the book space) have made great strides in their online service,” Lewin said. “Amazon is already very aggressive on price, they match whoever is cheapest in the market. Book Depository was already more expensive than Amazon for most titles. So it’s unlikely to have an effect.” Lewin also highlighted the fact that Australia has a diverse bookselling industry, with a number of retail chains including Dymocks, Readings and Harry Hartog. She said that Australia has managed to avoid Amazon dominating the industry because the company joined the market at a later date. “What we have seen in the UK and US is that bricks-and-mortar bookstores that do a great job at delivering experiences can still thrive,” she said. “I hope we can maintain diversity in both our online and physical bookstores into the future.” Meanwhile, Egan asserted that the closure of Book Depository would ultimately produce a net benefit for Australia’s bookstores and booksellers.“More sales for bookshops, for local publishers, more royalties for local authors, and an improvement in the tax base from all the activities that comprise the value chain,” he said.