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74-year-old independent Christian bookstore Baker Book House (@bakerbookstore) (blog), Grand Rapids, MI, held its ribbon cutting grand re-opening ceremony this morning, celebrating the completion of its nearly year-long 28,000-square foot reconstruction project.

Along with new Bibles, books, music, video, digital, and giftware, Baker Book House, the retail division of Baker Publishing Group (BPG) (@ReadBakerBooks) (@BakerAcademic) (@bethany_house) (@BrazosPress) (@Chosen_Books) (@RevellBooks), has an extensive inventory of used books and serious academic and theological sections.

In his remarks, Dwight Baker, president of BPG, emphasized the communal aspect of the store and how the remodeling’s objective is to make the space an inviting place for people to gather, hold meetings, and attend events (see above video).

John Topliff, general manager of Somersault, says, "The new Baker Book House truly is a dynamic store with natural light, excellent inventory, wide-enough aisles for browsing, WiFi and a cafe to make the store a third-place, a used book department, and an area for events and meetings that makes the store a valuable community-building hub. The staff is welcoming, service-oriented, and knowledgeable. This store is already a destination store and the remodeling provides more reasons for people to stop in and shop. The joy on the faces of the Baker staff was wonderful to see."

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

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As retailers reinvent their in-store shopping experience in the face of the continued rise of e-commerce, research released by Cisco finds that digital content from the Internet is the most powerful influence in buying decisions for the majority of shoppers in all channels.

The 3rd annual Cisco^® (@CiscoRetail) study of consumers says online ratings and reviews are the most influential sources for making purchasing decisions (followed by advice from friends and family), and that shoppers increasingly want access to digital content in stores through a variety of devices. The study recommends different ways retailers can present digital information to better influence shoppers' buying behavior — and win higher revenue in the store.

According to the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group^™ (@CiscoIBSG) study, titled Catch and Keep Digital Shoppers, a majority of shoppers, categorized as "Digital Mass Market," have advanced beyond the capabilities of many retailers. 

These shoppers expect stores to operate with the same information, transparency, and speed as their favorite website, and two-thirds are interested in personalized shopping experiences when visiting a store. Shoppers overwhelmingly prefer in-store self-service access to digital content (85%), with 1 in 3 using mobile searches to guide their purchasing decisions — up 20% from last year.

·         53% of shoppers expect greater price visibility

·         37% want easier ways to find products

·         39% desire faster/easier way to purchase products.

Read the news release.

Read the full report (pdf).

Enlarge the above Infographic.

See further coverage of the study by Online Media Daily.

Also see our previous blogpost, “’Showrooming’ Gains Ground in US” and other posts tagged “Retail.” And download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial, our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

According to a survey by GroupM Next (@groupmnext), 43% of US shoppers have used their mobile phone to engage in "showrooming" (#showrooming) the practice of using a mobile device to research products while in a store, including comparing prices online.

"Consumers have shifted their path to purchase to include the store as a step, but not necessarily the final step; and this will likely continue to increase over time," Chris Copeland, CEO of GroupM Next, says.

The study suggests that if bricks-&-mortar stores could stay within 5% of the price available via the Web (e.g., 5% of $17 is 85-cents), almost half of "potential showroomers" say they would finalize their purchase in stores.

Interacting with a member of staff in stores can also make a difference. Consumers who spoke to an associate are 12.5% more likely to purchase from a bricks-&-mortar outlet.

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial, our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Edelman (@EdelmanPR) Millennial consultancy (@Edelman8095) (#Edel8095) is the driver of 8095, a global benchmark study on how Millennials connect with brands, make purchasing decisions and share their opinions on products and companies with family, friends, and extended networks. The study, first conducted in 2010 and updated this year, focuses on people born between 1980 and 1995.

(Above graph is from MarketingCharts, @marketingcharts)

·         Over 3/4 of millennial consumers worldwide want to be "entertained" by brands, and a similar proportion are willing to provide feedback on goods and services.

·         About 80% want brands to "entertain" them, with co-creating products the most popular option, mentioned by 40%, ahead of receiving real-time answers to social media enquiries (33%).

·         32% want sponsoring events

·         31% desure companies to deliver engaging online content

·         21% would like to connect with other fans. Forming tie-ups with admired celebrities or public figures score 19%.

·         More broadly, a 74% majority of respondents say they influence the purchase choices of peers and older buyers

·         63% regularly go shopping with their friends, partner, or family.

·         For 73%, sharing feedback with companies after a good or bad experience is a "responsibility," peaking at 90% in China and India, but falling to 59% in Germany and 57% in Canada.

·         When making purchase decisions, 94% of participants use at least 1 external information source and 40% use 4 or more, with search engines and word-of-mouth from friends and family the most common.

·         When asked what wider assistance brands could be in their lives, 77% want financial assistance, such as grants and scholarships for studying.

·         75% desire opportunities for more "life experiences" like trips and lessons in interesting subjects, and 65% want a mentor to help guide them.

·         60% want to tap a brand's "audience," like its Facebook page or ads, to connect with similarly-minded people, and 56% say the same for sharing their views with a wide group.

In 2013, the oldest of the Millennials will turn 33 – many of them are now parents, have careers, and wield spending power and influence in today's world.

Read the news release.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you understand and reach the Millennial market.

Learn about online marketing with SomersaultSocial.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Research tab.

The Biblio-Mat is a random book dispenser built by Craig Small (thejuggernaut.ca) for The Monkey’s Paw, an idiosyncratic antiquarian bookshop in Toronto, Canada. Biblio-Mat books (112 million possibilities), which vary widely in size and subject matter, cost $2 and are dispensed without regard to customer selection.

The machine was conceived as an artful alternative to the ubiquitous and often ignored discount sidewalk bin. When a customer puts coins into it, the Biblio-Mat dramatically whirrs and vibrates as the machine is set in motion. The ring of an old telephone bell enhances the thrill when the customer’s mystery book is delivered with a satisfying clunk into the receptacle below.

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you lead strategically.

Learn about online marketing with SomersaultSocial.

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Innovation tab.

The management team of Family Christian (@FCstores), the nation's largest Christian retail chain with 280 stores in 36 states, has partnered with a group of Atlanta-based Christian businessmen to acquire the company from its private equity owners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Under the new ownership, Family Christian's pledge is to contribute 100% of its profits to Christian causes and, specifically, ministries serving widows and orphans both in the USA and abroad. Family Christian has always been committed to providing resources for the Christian community, but the new ownership structure will allow the organization to not only equip Christians in their daily walk, but to increase the organization's impact by providing substantial financial support to faith-based causes.

Read the news release.

Additionally, Family Christian president and CEO, Cliff Bartow, told Publishers Weekly the company has decided to drop its own e-reader – the edifi, launched in June – “because the technology is moving so rapidly, and this is not our core competency.” Instead, Family will work with Kobo (@kobo), carrying four of their color devices and three of their black-and-white devices for the Christmas season. “We definitely believe in the future of ebooks,” Bartow said. (Also see PW’s earlier article, “Family Christian Chain Launches E-Reader.”)

As for the future of brick and mortar, Bartow said, “We believe our stores are a viable concept. Today customers want to be served through multiple channels. Look at Apple--they do business online but their physical stores are also important. Our customers want the store experience. They want a place they can come for inspiration and interaction with our staff.”

Also see Christianity Today’s coverage.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you navigate the fast-changing environment of today's book publishing world.

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And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

SoLoMo (“social-local-mobile”) is essentially the addition of local information to search engine results in order to capitalize on the increasing use of mobile devices. SoLoMo has also evolved to include mobile-specific offers pushed out to consumers based on their current location.

In this Infographic (enlarge it) from Monetate (@monetate), see how SoLoMo is having an overall impact on traditional ecommerce, and how consumers are using their smartphones to access social and local sites which ultimately influence purchases.

Also see our previous blogpost, "Should Bookstores Become Publishing Genius Bars?"

LifeWay Christian Resources (@LifeWay) has launched a new ebookstore and a new mobile ebook reader.

The LifeWay Reader app is now available as a free download from the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad and from Google Play for Android devices. LifeWay's new app allows users to build a personal library from a growing list of ebooks and resources from the same Christian publishers found in LifeWay Christian Stores and at LifeWay.com. The LifeWay.com ebookstore currently offers more than 8,000 titles.

The LifeWay Reader app comes with a free pre-loaded copy of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Other free content also is available online.

Read this in full.

LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention (@SBCLife), established in Nashville, TN, in 1891, is one of the world's largest providers of Christian products and services, including Bibles, church literature, books, music, audio and video recordings, church supplies, and Internet services through LifeWay.com. The company also owns and operates 160 LifeWay Christian Stores across the US, as well as one of the largest Christian conference centers in the country.

Read our previous blogposts:

·         "Family Christian Stores Now Selling Its Own Tablet"

·         "Parable, Mardel Latest to Launch Ebook Sales; Ebooks Now at 500+ Christian Stores"

·         “Ganxy Offers an 'Easier Way to Sell & Market Ebooks'”

·         “How Ebook Buyers Discover Books”

·         “Sites That Facilitate Book Discovery”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically plan your book’s disoverability.

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

Christian Retailing (@ChristianRetail) says, “Christian retailers are reporting good sales and positive feedback for CBA's 3rd annual Christian Store Week (@CSW_2012)” Sept. 28 – Oct. 8.

More than 400 Christian stores nationwide — including 134 independent retailers and the Family Christian Stores (@FCstores) chain — partnered with World Vision (@WorldVisionUSA) to raise awareness of the need for hunger relief among American children as part of CSW, an effort to spotlight Christian bookstores and drive traffic, CBA said.

Read this in full.

See our previous blogpost, “This is Christian Store Week.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you reach the Christian store market with your brand message.

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Barcodes are a standard application on books today. BBC News reports that October 7 is the 60th anniversary of the barcode patent, filed in the US in 1952.

However the distinctive black-and-white stripes did not make their first appearance in an American shop until 1974 - because the laser technology used to read them did not exist.

[Standardization entity] GS1 UK (@GS1UK) says the QR code was not a threat to the traditional linear barcode.

A QR (Quick Response) code is an image made up of dots, which can contain more data than a barcode.

"They have different purposes - the barcode on the side of a tin of beans is for point-of-sale scanning. It ensures the consumer is charged the right amount and updates stock records," said Gary Lynch, chief executive of GS1 UK.

"The QR code's main purpose is to take the person that scans it to an extended multi media environment. Technically you can combine the two but nobody's asking for that right now."

The first item to be scanned by a barcode was a packet of chewing gum in an Ohio supermarket in 1974.

Read this in full.