Barnes & Noble.com, the online arm of book retailer Barnes & Noble, cut its net loss from $57.6 million in first quarter 2000 to $39.8 million in first quarter 2001. Sales jumped 23%, from $88.6 million to $109 million in the quarter ended March 31.
“We continue to achieve these gains with a minimum of promotional offers, such as free shipping, and no off-line advertising,” said Steve Riggio, vice chairman of Barnes &Noble.com, in a statement.
In fact, the New York based firm reduced marketing, sales and editorial spending from $23.7 million, or 26.8% of total sales, in first quarter 2000 to $17.4 million, or 16%, in the quarter just ended. While its overall fulfillment and customer service costs rose from $11 million to $12.4 million, as a percentage of total sales these expenses fell from 12.4% to 11.3%.
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