Kindle must reinvent itself to bounce back

In its response to reports that its Kindle business is exiting the Chinese mainland market, Amazon said consumers can still buy Kindle devices through third-party online and offline retailers, while some of its devices have been sold out in the mainland.

No one knows whether consumers bought all its products or the company produced too few, leading to the sellout, but it is obvious that Kindle has shut down several online sales channels, forcing many in China to put their Kindles up for sale.

On the other hand, the domestic digital reading market is growing rapidly. Data show that the number of digital readers in the mainland was 494 million in 2020, 5.56 percent higher than the year before. The total market value of the digital reading industry was 35.16 billion yuan ($5.51 billion) in 2020, a growth of 21.8 percent over that in 2019.

The reason for the industry’s growth even as Kindle declines is the ubiquitous smartphone. When it can take care of most daily needs, why would one want a Kindle device?

In fact, all electronic devices that specialize in single functions are fading out, be it Kindle, MP3 or MP4 players.

Even tablets account for only one-tenth of mobile devices sales because one cannot use one to make a phone call.

Besides, Kindle itself has problems. The electronic books that are available are expensive, while Kindle Unlimited, a program that allows customers to read any number of eBooks for a monthly subscription fee, seldom includes new titles.

In a nutshell, while electronic reading is a booming market, the market for electronic reading devices is shrinking. That’s why many joke that the only function left for a Kindle device is to act as a cover for a steaming cup of instant noodles.

Of course, Kindle offers some very good professional resources for scholars, while also allowing users to install an electronic dictionary to let them read in different languages.

That’s why many users are saddened and hope Kindle does not disappear for good. Maybe Kindle can find a way to reinvent itself and continue serving its customers.