Mike Shatzkin of The Idea Logical company analyzes recent statements by publishers and predicts that sales of books through brick-&-mortar bookstores will decline by 65% over the next 5 years. Here's an excerpt:
We have definitely passed what Michael Cader has dubbed “peak bookstores” in the US. Shelf space for books is probably dropping faster than the number of stores as book retailers look for other items to keep their customers more satisfied and give those items space previously devoted to books. And shelf space available for publishers who don’t own bookstores is dropping faster than that because Barnes & Noble, the leading provider of bookshelf display space, is aggressively sourcing their own product both to improve their margins and to develop proprietary product not available to their competitors.
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