What Will Googles Jump Into E-Books Spell for Amazon?
by Sarah Schoenfelder- Google’s entrance in the e-book market may not be a Kindle-killer. But the competition should shake things up a bit—and lead to more affordable pricing for customers. Paid Content’s Rory Maher explains, “Jefferies & Company analyst Yousseff Squali argues that Amazon will likely remain the e-books leader, but that the move by Google may force Amazon to provide publishers with better financial terms and offer aggressive discounts on the Kindle.” Squali took a hard look the two companies’ approach to e-books and their respective challenges. While Amazon is the current category leader with Kindle, Google may prove to be a worthy competitor. Google’s search dominance should prove advantageous as both a marketing vehicle and distribution channel. Squali predicts higher profit margins for Google Books since it is not selling a device. By comparison, Amazon will suffer lower margins thanks to high manufacturing, support, and distribution overhead. Further, the competitio
