The Ingram Content Group has acquired Aer.io, a service that allows publishers, retailers and authors to sell print and digital books directly to readers via their websites, blogs and social media networks.
The purchase, said Marcus Woodburn, v-p of digital products at Ingram, “addresses our customers’ growing desire to connect more directly with their readers.” Aeri.io was founded four years ago as Aerbook by Ron Martinez with early backing from Ingram’s investment arm, Ingram Ventures. Ingram is bringing over the Aer.io team.
Aeri.io began as a developer of “native commerce” programs that gave publishers and other interested parties the ability to embed links with buy buttons in their tweets and Facebook posts. The company then expanded with Store Maker, a platform that offers the ability to set up a complete online storefront. Aer.io Flyer was another addition--a marketing tool that allows publishers to promote titles to their customers and then close the sale via their own storefront.
Both Martinez and Woodburn believe the combination of Aer.io’s service with Ingram’s reach across the industry will enhance the ability of publishers, retailers and authors to sell directly to consumers. Currently, the e-books available through Aer.io will be the books from publishers that Aer.io has agreements with, but an Ingram spokesperson said they anticipate adding all of Ingram's CoreSource Plus catalogue of 250,000 titles once they get through technical integration.
