TORONTO, Dec. 19, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- With tens of thousands of booklovers connecting online at the unique Indigo Online Community, this innovative and free offering from Canada's online bookstore is fast becoming the ultimate destination for booklovers to share their passion for books, authors and reading. Since the launch of the Indigo Online Community in mid-September, user traffic generated to the www.chapters.indigo.ca online bookstore is up 50% over the previous year. Twice as many visitors are staying on the site longer, joining the online community to post reviews of their recent reads and lists of their favorite movies and must-have music. Every three minutes at the online bookstore, a new member joins the Indigo Online Community to find insightful recommendations for everything from the top ten toys for the season to best new reads and inspiring books for everyone on their list.
Through the easy-to-use content tools and social networking functionality, members of the Indigo Online Community are adding hundreds of thousands of books to their virtual bookshelves and developing networks of friends and favorites. Individually and collectively, members are blogging about their interests and passions from what they're reading, to their lifestyle interests such as music, movies, cooking, sports, literature, and gardening -- http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/community?s_campaign=PR_holiday2_1207
And what are members buzzing about? Active group members are blogging individually and collectively in hundreds of groups that have been formed around bookclubs, interests and passions, including:
- -- Best Commuting Reads
- -- Winter Literature
- -- Food - http://community.indigo.ca/posts/Food-101/group-45/current.html?s_campaign=PR_holiday2_1207
- -- Cats - http://community.indigo.ca/posts/Cats/group-170/current.html?s_campaign=PR_holiday2_1207
- -- Toronto Reads - http://community.indigo.ca/posts/Toronto-Reads/group-32/current.html?s_campaign=PR_holiday2_1207
- -- Interesting Top 10 lists - http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/Community-Top-Ten-Lists/community_top_ten_list-promoNB.html?s_campaign=PR_holiday2_1207
- -- Talked about titles - A Thousand Splendid Suns, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, and Da Vinci Code http://community.indigo.ca/toptens/Communitys-Most-Talked-About-Books-chapters-indigo-ca-Editors/314229.html?s_campaign=PR_holiday2_1207
The online bookstore team at Indigo and Chapters was inspired to deliver an engaging online experience akin to the social atmosphere and knowledgeable environment that Canadian booklovers enjoy instore at every Chapters, Indigo and Coles store across Canada. Based on the half million minutes that new members clocked online in the first month alone, Indigo's Online Community -- http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/community?s_campaign=PR_holiday2_1207 -- is proving to be a place where Canadians are lingering to define themselves and their interests by the books they read and plan to read.
"The Indigo Community is a great place for booklovers to connect with likeminded booklovers and the hundreds of authors who have joined and are building robust profiles and posts around their own books and interests," says Carolyn Beatty, Senior Vice President Online, Indigo Books & Music Inc.
Following the first 90 days of activity, the Indigo Online Community is responding to user feedback with its first phase of updates including additional e-mail notification features and refined search functions to enhance the experience. Monthly updates are scheduled going forward to maintain the best possible offering based on member responses.
About Indigo Books & Music Inc.
Indigo Books & Music Inc. (TSX:IDG) is a publicly traded Canadian company and the largest book retailer in Canada, operating bookstores in all provinces under the names Indigo Books Music & More, Chapters, The World's Biggest Bookstore and Coles. Indigo operates www.chapters.indigo.ca, an online retailer of books, music, DVDs and toys.
In 2004, Indigo founded the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, a registered charity that provides new books and learning materials to high-needs Canadian elementary schools, to address the literacy crisis in Canada. Visit loveofreading.org for more information.
In 2006 and 2007, the Company qualified as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers in a survey run by Mediacorp Canada. To learn more about Indigo, please visit the About Our Company section of www.chapters.indigo.ca.