Shelf Awareness’ (@ShelfAwareness) editor-in-chief John Mutter (@JohnMutter) reports on the Verso Digital survey of consumer purchasing behavior that was presented at the ABA’s (@ABCGroupatABA & @IndieBoundMeg) Winter Institute 7 (#Wi7) Jan. 18-20. He says the survey “reinforced the sense among indies that there are plenty of opportunities for bricks-and-mortar bookstores in the post-Borders, digital era.”
Verso's (@VersoDigital) director of business development and president of Books & Books Westhampton Beach (@bookswhb), Westhampton Beach, NY, Jack McKeown (@bookateur), emphasized that many in the business like to use Darwinian metaphors for what’s happening in the book world, implying that the growth of ebooks and ebook readers is a zero-sum game pitting print against digital and that the book business will follow the course of the music world, where most bricks-and-mortar music retailers have vanished.
But the findings of the Verso survey suggest a different model, McKeown said, one of symbiosis mirroring the situation of species who “depend on each other for survivability.”
Among the findings:
· Bookstores remain an important place for readers to discover new books
· Indies' market share continues to lag behind indies' popularity
· Most Borders customers were casual shoppers and are still "up for grabs"
· Readers of all kinds split purchases between a variety of retailers, including indies, chains, big boxes and online
· E-reader device owners intend to buy almost as many printed books as ebooks
· Ebook purchases are increasingly across a range of categories, more and more resembling sales for printed books, and are less focused on certain categories such as mysteries and romance
· Some readers are quite open to buying some kind of indie-branded e-reader device
· Half of all readers don’t want to use any kind of e-reader and there is no sign of a “killer” device — like the iPod in music — that would break through this resistance
· Avid readers — those who purchase 10 or more books a year — tend to be older, female, wealthier, and better educated — and represent 30.2% of the US adult population, about 70 million people. “They are the market that's a driver for our industry,” McKeown said. These avid readers buy books for a variety of reasons, including entertainment/relaxation (32%), education and self-improvement (22%) and for gifts (14%).
· Readers find out about books mostly through personal recommendations (49.2%), bookstore staff recommendations (30.8%), advertising (24.4%), search engine searches (21.6%) and book reviews (18.9%). Much less important are online algorithms (16%), blogs (12.1%), and social networks (11.8%). These results “reaffirm the power and necessity of bricks-and-mortar stores and traditional marketing efforts,” McKeown commented.
· The preferred places to shop for books are at independent bookstores (23%), chain bookstores (22%), online (21.1%), and big box stores (11.7%).
· Book buyers buy their books online (49%), at chain bookstores (42.7%), local indies (36%) and big box retailers (24.3%). Avid readers tend to buy even more online (65.5%) although avid readers buy almost as often at indies (47.5%) as at chain bookstores (51.4%).
See the Survey of Book-Buying Behavior slides.
See the Wi7 educational handouts.
Read ABA’s coverage of Wi7 here & here.
Another survey, conducted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (@new_rules) in partnership with several business groups including the ABA, finds that independent businesses appear to be benefitting from increased public interest in supporting locally-owned retail enterprises. ABA CEO Oren Teicher says "a growing shop local trend is now a business reality."
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