Christian publishing leaders believe that declining religious book sales can be held off by tailoring content to the audience with print-on-demand titles and emerging digital technologies, according to a report by Book Business magazine.

In a May 1 article of the publication with the headline "Saving Religious Books," industry leaders cited problems that have contributed to the sales slowdown for religious books and Christian bookstores, including a changing retail landscape, the recession, decreased donations for ministry accounts that order in bulk and even the popularity of blockbuster books.

"The problem with the blockbuster books is that they often lead to price wars that a lot of retailers can't win," Michael Norris, lead trade book publishing analyst at Simba Information in Stamford, Conn., told the magazine.

The increased attention on blockbuster books like Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life (Zondervan) and the "Left Behind" series (Tyndale House Publishers) has also contributed to a decline of backlist titles in brick-and-mortar stores, a factor which Baker Publishing Group President Dwight Baker predicted will send more and more customers to online retailer Amazon.com.

"Amazon will continue to encroach on the major bookstore chains as the primary retailer of backlist titles," Baker said. "This trend will alter how we launch and sustain our titles. The bookstore chains are the more important sales channel for establishing our new titles."

Digital retail and smaller runs of print-on-demand titles were two of the areas suggested to help keep publishers' inventory and return costs down.

Click here to read the full report.

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