Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan
Booksellers aren't valueless: The living salesperson's ability to assist a customer in finding what they're looking for... an ability that is heightened if the salesperson and consumer actually know each other and their personal tastes and opinions... is so far unmatched by a computer program. And salespeople who know their books can do a better job at steering you to other material you might like.
If the store has a way to sell digital books online, therefore, they can satisfy people who need sales help, and want to buy digital product.
Bookstores can also maximize their browsing potential. Keep a single book in-store as a browsing copy, and make the book available as a digital browsing product on terminals in the store, and through a wireless portal in the store. Again, make sure people can buy on-the-spot, or through the stores' online portal. And you've got a functional business.
Digital browsing can also change to make it better for stores to offer: Add videos of the book, filmed comments from the author or reviewers, and maybe even a TV-type commercial spot. Run those browsing videos on the store portal, with a purchase link that will run through the store.
I think any bricks-and-mortar bookstore could do this, and continue to give customers a reason to come into the store and buy through them.
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I agree.
Also, while I love reading novels on my ebook reader, there are certain books that I want in paper form. Dictionaries, for example. (Mind you I sort of collect dictionaries... every time I bring a new one home, my husband says "You mean there is a dictionary that you don't already own
") When purchasing a dictionary I want to be able to thumb through the dictionary, look up certain words to see how they are defined, etc. For me, brick and mortar stores are indispensable, and I can't see that changing any time in the near future.