What do you do when brick-and-mortar stores are folding, and Amazon, the notorious online megastore, takes a huge bite out of your profits? Get a pushcart!
Penguin Books has come up with a creative marketing initiative, peddling their books across the country on a pushcart. Yes, that’s right, a pushcart–modeled after the New York City hot dog cart. They have also designed vans that sell books, kind of like ice cream trucks with a door on the side. The carts and trucks, stocked with all of their imprints, will visit sites such as bookstores (hmm, the owners probably won’t like that), beaches, outdoor markets, and parks.
At Fuze, we like the notion. It’s a kind of grassroots, back-to-basics idea, and best of all, it brings books to readers while circumventing Amazon. So long as independent bookstores aren’t targeted as competition.
Here’s another idea–a challenge for Penguin. What about dropping off some donated books to local libraries and schools while you’re at it?
The final question is–will they come with ketchup or relish?
Fuze books are even closer than a pushcart; they’re at your fingertips!
Read the entire “DigitalBookWorld” article here.
