E-commerce: book delivery will soon cost 3 euros

Will the French go back to the bookstore next door to buy their books? In any case, this is the purpose of introducing a minimum delivery rate, set at 3 euros by decree published on Friday, April 7, in the Official Journal. The measure will be applied six months after the publication of the decree, namely on 7 October. Only orders under €35 will be affected. Above this ceiling, the €0.01 threshold applied since 2014 will remain in effect. Please note that holders of a loyalty program such as Amazon Prime will also be required to pay these shipping costs.

This decision has been expected since the promulgation of the law of December 30, 2021 “On the Book Economy”, which established a minimum price for books purchased online, but without specifying the amount. The final decision was made by Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy, and Rima Abdul-Malak, Minister of Culture, in consultation with Arcep (Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority) after consultation with stakeholders. The latest step was the permission of the European Commission, finally received in February last year.

An amount that no one satisfies

However, the establishment of the cost of delivery in the amount of 3 euros is far from pleasing to the participants in the sector. Starting with the mainstream e-commerce platforms that more and more consumers are turning to after the Covid-19 crisis to the detriment of bookstores. Thus, Amazon pointed to the inflationary nature of the new rules, as well as the risk that consumers living in “rural areas and small towns” would no longer be able to purchase books. Fnac, for its part, advocated for a minimum threshold capped at 2 euros.

This decision also denounces the chain of independent bookstores, which is demanding an increase in the minimum price to 4.50 euros. Therefore, professionals in the sector will continue to advocate for raising the threshold, arguing that the average shipping cost in a bookstore is around 6 euros. Specifically, they are asking the government to encourage the Post Office to offer cheaper shipping rates for booksellers.

Unique legislation in the world

France is the first country to introduce such rules. In addition to this minimum delivery rate, the Darcos law allowed municipalities and inter-municipal authorities to maintain their independent bookstores in the manner of subsidies given to small cinemas following the passage of the Sueur law of 13 July 1992.

Recall that France was a pioneer in the regulation of the book market after the adoption of a law in 1981, which establishes a single price for new books. Legislation that made independent bookstores sustainable, the 3,500 stores now sell “almost every other book,” according to the French Bookshop Syndicate.