Quote:
Originally Posted by Pulpmeister
Do many bookshops also sell ebooks?
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There's a lot of talk about it but, no; they don't actually do it.
Not to any significant extent.
Not even the ones who might actually benefit from it; B&N, Kobo partners, etc.
(The few attempts to sell ebooks through independent bookstores are online, not in-store.)
In *theory* there is some potential there but ideally you'd need a new reader design (one with a docking port) so you could plug the reader into a kiosk console and have the DRM'ed ebook directly transferred. Failing that, current readers would need a firmware update to use WiFi to identify themselves and pair up with the consoles. (Or through USB, bypassing the Mass Storage mode.) The simplest design would require DRM-free ebooks.
The biggest virtue would be the ability to sell to non-PC owners.
A Redbox-style kiosk business would allow cash purchases and the Kiosks could be sited at supermarkets, pharmacies, dept stores, and convenience stores all over. It probably would not generate enough in rent to appeal to bookstores, though. It might appeal to newstands.
The problem is that in a world of smartphones and abundant wifi hotspots and home networks, straight online retailing serves the vast majority of buyers just fine.
Especially since the dominant platform (Kindle) allows Gift Card ebook purchases and those gift cards can be bought at B&M retail at many of the big supermarket and pharmacy chains. (Not sure about B&N and Kobo, though.)
Gift card buying isn't as convenient as actual cash buying but it's close enough. So, between the limited audience, the upfront cost for the Kiosks, and the need to rework the reader installed base there probably won't be enough of a market for anybody to risk it. (In the console gaming world, GAMESTOP does sell digital content in the form of product-specific download codes on cards but none of the existing ebookstores are set up for anything but gift card credits.)
I suppose there might be a place for this approach in the undeveloped ebook markets (europe, Japan) where there isn't a big installed base of ereaders to contend with but those markets also have low ebook sales volume to amortize the hardware costs so I can't really see B&M ebook retailing being much of a business.
Digital products just aren't a good fit for B&M sales outlets.
(Kiosk-based ebook serving is being deployed now but for *libraries*.)