Amazon announced it is in the process of winding down their print textbook rental program along with magazine and newspaper subscriptions, both print and digital, Publishers Weekly reported. The print textbook rental program which was established more than a decade ago will be phased out by the spring semester. Amazon however said it will continue to support its digital textbook rental program which will continue to function as usual. The sale of print textbooks, both new and old will also continue unabated. As it is, the retailer hosts more than two million textbooks that are available for outright purchase or for rent.
Magazine and newspaper subscriptions, both print and digital as well as single-issue sales that are currently available via Kindle Newsstand will also be phased out from next year. Amazon currently offers subscriptions to print magazines in the US. Besides, it offers digital magazine and newspaper subscriptions as well as the sale of single issues in the US along with a few other countries. That said, there are still going to be some magazines and newspapers numbering around a few hundred that will still be part of the Kindle Unlimited bouquet.
The company said all of this is part of its annual internal assessment process which includes identifying loss-making business sections and dealing with those accordingly.
“Following an assessment of our print textbook rentals and our magazine and newspaper subscriptions and single-issue sales, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue these services,” said spokesperson Lindsay Hamilton in a statement. “We don’t take these decisions lightly and are winding down these offerings in a phased manner over several months. We will continue to support customers, sellers, and publishers during that time.”
Amazon is also hoping the above business reorganization process will let it cut costs which should in turn boost overall profit. This assumes significance in view of the downturn currently evident in most parts of the world that has also negatively affected its bottom line. This makes for a sharp contrast after profits boomed during the pandemic when people were forced to go online for almost all of their requirements, be it shopping, entertainment, work, education, and such.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.