Tower Records launches online bookstore
Continuing recent efforts to expand its reach as a multi-channel retailer, Tower Records has introduced an online bookstore with more than 500,000 titles at Tower.com, the company said today.
"The launch of ‘Books at Tower.com’ is a huge benefit to our web site and our customers," said Russ Eisenman, senior marketing officer. "Our online store features a selection rivaling other large online booksellers."
The online bookstore, Tower.com/books, debuted on Monday with a link on the Tower.com home page, offering audiobooks as well as hardcover and paperback books and an introductory offer, until April 30, that gives book buyers a up to $50 (or 10% of the purchase price) to spend on future purchases at Tower.com. Tower, No. 179 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites, says it is offering all adult hardcover books at 40% off list price, and that all books are shipped “at rates lower than our competitors.” Its shipping rates start at $2.95 per item plus $1 for each additional item shipped to the contiguous 48 states, and $4.95 per item and $1 for each additional item for Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, U.S. territories and overseas U.S. military bases.
Tower Records also introduced this month a podcasting network at Towerpod.com, which lets consumers create music podcasts that can be downloaded for free. Tower, which launched the podcasting service in association with Outhink Media, has not commented on how much traffic it drives to Tower.com.
Tower Records, a unit of MTS Inc., also operates 89 stores in the U.S.; another 144 stores are operated by licenses in nine countries. This month, Tower Records is equipping all of its U.S. stores with web-based TouchMedia Digital Media Stations, which let shoppers scan the bar code on any CD or DVD in a store to play it before making a purchase. “Other retailers only let you sample CDs or DVDs that have been chosen by store managers,” a Tower spokeswoman says.
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