Changes in the e-reading market environment and Kindle's product design, which lagged behind the trend of the times, have evolved into today's situation.
A few days ago, the news of "Kindle's withdrawal from the Chinese market" was boiling over: netizens found that amazon's China official website kindle products were out of stock; kindle Jingdong's self-operated flagship store had a large-scale shortage of goods. As early as October 2021, Amazon had already closed the official flagship store of Kindle Tmall.
In response, Amazon responded, "We are committed to serving Chinese consumers." Consumers can purchase Kindle devices through third-party online and offline retailers. The Kindle e-book reader is popular with consumers, and some models are currently sold out in the Chinese market. ”
To be honest, Amazon's answer is very skillful, did not directly answer the questions that netizens cared about, felt what was said, and felt that nothing was said. And this "sold out" is also worth playing, whether this is bought out by consumers, or the manufacturer clears the warehouse, it is unknown.
Regardless of the truth, it is an indisputable fact that the Kindle's popularity in China has gradually faded in recent years.
Zhang Yi, CEO of Ai Media Consulting, believes that "out of stock" may just be an excuse for kindle, the root cause is that the Chinese market is not suitable for kindle survival. "Chinese consumers tend to integrate electronic products, compared to a mobile phone with social, reading, gaming and other functions, kindle this single-function e-reader is a chicken rib."
Since entering the Chinese market in June 2013, kindle has been very popular; by 2016, China has become the largest market for kindle global sales; in 2018, the cumulative sales of kindle e-book readers in China reached millions.
However, in recent years, domestic digital reading has continued to grow, a variety of reading APPS emerge in an endless stream, in the reader track, kindle is no longer the only one. According to the 2020 China Digital Reading Report, the scale of China's digital reading users in 2020 was 494 million, an increase of 5.56% year-on-year; the overall size of the digital reading industry market was 35.16 billion, with a growth rate of 21.8%.
How did the "reading artifact" Kindle, which was once admired by a large number of elites and changed the reading habits of many people, become a "cover bubble noodle artifact"?
What the hell did the Kindle go through?
Use "all your strength" to enter the Chinese market
What was the Kindle for? study. But many people find out after buying a Kindle that buying a Kindle is not the same as reading.
June 7, 2013, was the first day of Kindle's entry into China, and before that, many Chinese netizens had been waiting for various Tieba forums, calling on Kindle to enter China quickly.
In this regard, Amazon and Bezos have long had a layout.
As early as July 2010, some media found that Amazon had begun to recruit Kindle supplier management positions in Beijing, triggering discussions about Kindle's imminent entry into China. But in September, Bezos said through Amazon's official response that the Kindle reader and the corresponding content have not entered China, and hopes that there will be plans for the future.
Before the Kindle entered China, e-book reader manufacturers led by Hanwang have always regarded it as a "luxury", and around 2004, the gross profit margin of Hanwang products was as high as 50%-60%, which was 3-4 times that of computer manufacturers such as Lenovo.
But when The Kindle entered China, Bezos's low-price or even loss-making hardware selling strategy directly overwhelmed a number of domestic hardware manufacturers such as Hanwang. By 2013, Hanwang's gross profit margin was only about 10%.
Relying on the help of Amazon's platform, around 2010, Amazon already had more than 600,000 e-book, magazine and blog subscriptions, and in order to attract the attention of Chinese readers, Amazon required domestic publishers to give the lowest price pricing on the Chinese Kindle channel.
In terms of functional and cultural attributes, Kindle also strives to adapt to Chinese readers in order to open up the market.
Admittedly, Amazon's efforts have not been in vain, and the former Kindle is also unique.
According to the data, from 2013 to 2018, Kindle e-readers have sold millions of units in China; China has become Amazon's largest market for global Kindle device sales; and the total number of books in Kindle China e-bookstores is nearly 700,000, an increase of nearly 10 times over 2013.
Changed from "Reading Artifact" to "Embossed Noodle Artifact"
A temporary lead does not mean that you can always lead.
Who would have thought that the first time Kindle "went out of the circle" was because of the "bubble noodle artifact".
In March 2019, Amazon official micro launched an advertising copy, a Kindle was covered on a box of bubble noodles, next to the text showed "cover Kindle, noodles are more fragrant." There was even a "countdown 5min" set with the Kindle's built-in clock function.
Seemingly self-black marketing, but now has become a reality, in the "Kindle or will withdraw from the Chinese market" news made a lot of noise, many netizens have said: "bubble noodle artifact" is gone?
As early as 2018, some netizens said that the Kindle is the one that eats the most ashes in the major digital products in their hands.
First, one of the reasons is that the Kindle is "not durable."
The black and white electronic ink screen used by kindle, although it has the advantages of low power consumption and long battery life and minimizing the pressure on the eyes, it is very "expensive", as long as there is a slight bump, there will be unrepaired light spots. The price of this screen is equivalent to the price of half a Kindle.
Subsequently, the rise of domestic readers also "fancy innovation". When everyone else changes and the Kindle doesn't change, it's hard to continue to be a must or preferred option.
Secondly, the Kindle has a single function.
As smartphones and Pads dominate the electronics market with rich functions, electronic products that integrate social, video, photography, reading, navigation and other functions are more favored by users.
For many users with professional reading needs, the single-function Kindle is not the best choice.
"Phoenix WEEKLY Finance" reporter comparison found that a basic latest iPad in Jingdong price is 2499 yuan, and if you choose to buy the previous year's old model or choose to buy a second-hand iPad price will be lower. The price of THE latest flagship OASIS3 of the Kindle on JD.com is 2899, which is enough to buy a basic iPad.
With the single-function Kindle and the multi-functional iPad, it is clear who consumers will choose.
It is undeniable that Kindle does have a group of users in the domestic market, but the world of Kindle has been quietly invaded by reading apps such as up-and-coming WeChat Reading.
Coupled with the fact that short videos are eating up young people's time, and reading devices such as mobile phones continue to rob users of e-readers, young people's reading choices have changed, and the decline of kindle seems to be impossible to change.
What are the implications of the fall of the Kindle?
As a popular electronic product, the Kindle's defeat in the Chinese market has undoubtedly given consumer electronics a great warning.
After entering the 21st century, consumer demand has been continuously refined, and companies have also launched a variety of consumer electronic products, leading wave after wave of consumption boom. However, many consumer electronics products immediately bid farewell to the Chinese market after a short period of glory.
For example, Casio's "selfie artifact", because it captured the demand of female consumers for beauty filters, once exploded in China, but now it has disappeared in the Chinese market.
It can be seen that mobile phones that belong to communication electronic products are absolutely just needed in electronic products. Once the selling point of consumer electronics is overtaken and replaced by mobile phones, such products are doomed to extinction.
If consumer electronic products want to open up a broad and non-pseudo demand market, they must grasp two aspects:
The first is to use absolutely tempting and irreplaceable soft power as a selling point to attract consumers to buy.
The second is to seize the characteristics of a certain type of population, cater to the needs of this type of population, and create electronic products that are just needed for specific groups.
The "disappearance" of the Kindle is the result of market choices, and for Chinese Internet companies, if they want to do a good job in consumer electronics, they also need to be more cautious.