Dubai:It’s not just Amazon who can lay claim to operating a mega online bookstore — Dubai’s Souq.com has confirmed plans to offer 6 million books through its platform.
The launch of “Global Bookstore” makes books “more accessible to the region”, the etailer said in a statement on Sunday, and that it is also in line with the UAE Government push for a new generation of readers.
“We are aligned with the UAE’s National Reading initiative and this category expansion comes at an interesting time when we are witnessing new momentum in the culture of reading across the region,” stated Ronaldo Mouchawar, CEO of Souq.com. “We are delighted to launch the books category to provide our customers with easy access to such a large assortment of books and we plan to grow further in future.
Amazon’s book selection is estimated at more than 10 million titles, according to estimates put out on the world wide web.
Based on a recent survey by the Arab Reading Index, people in the UAE read for around 51 hours a year, well above the average of 35 hours for the rest of the Arab world. They take in 24 books a year compared with the regional average of 16.
“We are constantly expanding our portfolio of products as well as categories to allow our merchants to grow as well as enable our customers to make smarter choices,” Mouchawar said.
