CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Campus eBookstore, a joint venture of the Independent College Bookstore Association and the Canadian Campus Retail Associates, today announced results from the fall back-to-school rush, its most successful sales period to date.
Over 61,000 digital learning resources from the world’s largest educational publishers were successfully distributed with full copyright compliance in all territories and in over 60 tax jurisdictions to students across North America. Campus eBookstore’s support of wide-ranging digital rights management requirements and both conventional or agency pricing models enabled significant digital success for members of the platform.
Of the units distributed, greater than 90% were products based on dynamic interactive course materials rather than digitized versions of paper textbooks. Dynamic interactive course materials are often prefered by faculty and students as they are generally accepted to deliver better learning outcomes.
Bookstores and publishers utilizing Campus eBookstore are also reporting extremely high sell-through to enrollment. Growing acceptance of digital course materials is being driven not only by the rich learning environment that they offer, but also by prices that compare favorably to traditional print texts.
In addition, over 1,200 public domain, faculty authored, and Open Educational Resources (OER) materials were distributed by Campus eBookstore to students at no cost during the 2015 fall rush, saving them tens of thousands of dollars and helping Campus eBookstore fulfill its mission to improve the affordability of course materials.
While Campus eBookstore distributes digital course materials both in-store and online, sales data indicates that over 90% of Campus eBookstore sales occurred in-store, supporting recent news indicating a resurgence of brick-and-mortar retail.
“The Beaver Store is now digitally selling more access codes and other e-content than ever before thanks to Campus eBookstore.” says James Howard, Academic Materials Manager, Oregon State University Beaver Store. “I highly recommend implementing them in your college bookstore operation.”
Since 2012, bookstore and publisher sales on Campus eBookstore have nearly doubled every year. The $14 million in revenue generated by Campus eBookstore for independent college stores has helped them meet the challenges of a rapidly changing course materials market. Campus eBookstore expects to build on this fall’s success with more college store installations and continuing sales growth.
About Campus EBookstore
Campus eBookstore is owned and operated by the ICBA (Independent College Bookstore Association) and the CCRA (Canadian Campus Retail Associates) and their partners. It has also been endorsed by IndiCo, a subsidiary of the National Association of College Stores’. Campus eBookstore acts as a digital content delivery platform which establishes conventions around digital course material delivery for publishers and booksellers in Canada and the US.
