A fall in sales of books and e-readers has led to a 4.9 per cent decrease in net revenues for Indigo Books & Music in its third quarter, which ended Dec. 29.

In a press release, the retailer attributes the decline to the absence of any hit books and the growing switch to digital reading.

Indigo and Chapters superstores posted a 5.0 per cent decrease, while Coles and IndigoSpirit stores were down 5.2 per cent. Online sales were up 3.6 per cent.

Indigo still managed to generate higher gross profits compared to last year because of a “shift to higher margin gift and lifestyle products, lower sales discounts, fewer markdowns, and shipping more products through the Company’s distribution centres.”

In the press release, Indigo CEO Heather Reisman says, “We are pleased that our results reflect our efforts to dramatically improve margins and significantly expand our product mix in key categories and online to drive sales growth. We’ve made great strides during the quarter to accelerate our transformation while reinforcing our position as Canada’s preferred destination for gift giving.