Veteran Christian retailer Chuck Wallington urged other stores to “get in the e-book game” at CBA’s Next 2012 conference in Atlanta.

As one of the first in the industry to begin selling digital books at his Christian Supply in Spartanburg, S.C., late in 2011, Wallington told those in a session on e-books how customers had welcomed the move and warned attendees: “If you are not planning to get into the game, I think it’s pretty bleak news.”

Around 500 Christian stores are currently selling e-books, with independents using programs offered by Wallington’s Covenant Group, The Parable Group and Innovative Inc.’s Signature Websites. Berean Christian Stores and Mardel Christian & Education also sell e-books.

Many Christian store shoppers would choose to buy digital books from their local retailer rather than Amazon “because they trust us, and that relationship means a lot to them,” said Wallington, whose landmark store is the largest independent in the industry.

The e-book presentation and discussion was the single best-attended session at Next 2012: Meet the Challenge, held Jan. 12-13 in Atlanta to coincide with the big AmericasMart gift show being held in the city at the same time.

Among those attending was Michael Hulsey, owner of Gifts of Joy Parable Christian Store in  Lima, Ohio, who said after taking part in the e-books session that he intended to return and add signage to his store to let customers know that he was selling e-books.

“Not having the ability to sell e-books makes you look like a dinosaur,” he said. “Whether we make a lot of money or not, if we don’t have them, we become irrelevant in the market.”

Frank Hood, co-owner of Sweet Spirit, a Parable Christian Store in Marietta, Ga., said that following the educational sessions, he planned to develop a strategy for dealing with products that had not sold, with an aggressive markdown policy.

“I think we have been careless in that regard, letting it sit around,” he said. “If something hasn’t moved, then it goes back or it gets marked down or it gets donated, but it gets out of my control.”

Main event sponsor Spring Arbor announced the launch of its enhanced iPage at the event. The distributor’s new-look website for stores includes customizable options, predictive searching and other options intended to make use quicker and easier.

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