No book fair? No problem. Hong Kong publishers woo crowds online with special discounts, free delivery

Hong Kong publishers and booksellers have moved online in a big way, offering discounts and free delivery, after their annual trade event had to be called off because of the resurgence in Covid-19 infections.

Fans of the Hong Kong Book Fair, which drew almost a million visitors last year, welcomed the promotions but said shopping online would not be the same as being at the event, a major attraction for book lovers every year.

Hong Kong book fair and other events postponed amid Covid-19 third wave

As soon as the event was cancelled, more than 40 booksellers swung into action, flooding the internet with special offers, most of which will be available through the end of the month.

One week into their online promotions, many said internet sales were likely to be far less than their earnings at last year’s fair, although some were pleasantly surprised that sales were proving better than expected.

Ming Pao Publications, one of the city’s largest publishers, said that as of last Wednesday, its online offers had secured only about 5 per cent of the sales it chalked up at last year’s seven-day event.

As customers pay for delivery when they shop online, general manager William So Wai-leung said the company was offering books at a 25 per cent discount, which was more than last year’s 20 per cent discounts at the fair.

“Because of the pandemic, our online sales have improved, but it’s impossible to match the sales at the traditional book fair, which drew a million visitors every year,” he said.

He conceded that shopping online was not the same as being at the fair, where visitors can linger at exhibition booths, browse and read before deciding what to buy.

“For the online shop, we only show the book cover and provide a brief introduction and some basic details, so the experience cannot be compared with buying the books in person,” he said.

The pandemic caused this year’s week-long event to be called off two days before it was to open on July 15, with 585 exhibitors.

Launched by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in 1990, the city’s book fair is one of the largest in the world.

The council announced on July 13 that this year’s fair would have to be rescheduled. Hong Kong’s third wave of Covid-19 infections this month raised the total past 2,372 recorded cases, with 17 deaths so far.

Breakthrough Book Gallery said the first week of its online offers brought in only about one-tenth of the sales it achieved at the fair in 2019.

But manager Entory Wun said the income so far was better than expected, thanks mainly to healthy sales of one of its novels, Beyond the Dream. The book is based on a popular new romantic film of the same name, which explores mental health issues. A third print run was coming up, Wun said.

The House of Hong Kong Literature, a local writers group that also operates as a publisher, also reported surprisingly good online sales.

“The sales so far are three or four times more than I imagined,” the group’s convenor, Tang Siu-wa, said without giving figures.

Tang said going online meant investing less than if the book fair had gone ahead.

“At the book fair, we used to sell titles from other publishers. But now we are only selling what we publish, and so we are earning more this way,” she said.

Author Yoyo Chan Lok-yiu, 27, was disappointed the fair had been called off because she was looking forward to having her friends at the launch of her first book.

Her debut work of non-fiction, Human Repeats the Same Nuclear Explosion, records her experiences travelling in Chernobyl and Fukushima.

“I attended the book fair every year when I was small,” she said. “When I became one of the authors appearing at this year’s fair, I felt my dream had finally come true, but in the end. it won’t be happening.” 

Postgraduate student Macau Mak Ka-fai, 26, a regular visitor to the annual event, said online sales were convenient for buying e-books, but he would miss the joy of discovering hidden gems at the fair.

“I’d usually find interesting books in some small publishers’ booths,” he said.

While it was good that publishers and booksellers were offering discounts online, he said they were all doing so separately, on their own websites.

He felt it would help book lovers if there was a centralised platform where they could check out what was on offer, including from obscure publishers who might have interesting books.

“I can’t even remember the names of those publishers, so how can I find out if they have an online book fair?” he said.