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Originally Posted by DaronFraley
I think there is a parallel to music stores with all this. When I was growing up, music stores were all over the place. That was one of the few places you could go to get a record or a cassette tape. Department stores sold music too, but in limited quantities. Those were the days of tangible music collections; the record, the cassette, and then the CD. Now CDs are sold at three places: Online stores, a FEW specialty music stores, and department stores.
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How few the specialty music stores are depends on your location. There's an active one relatively near me in NYC, for example, which has been there for a long time. I've bought a few things there, but it has persisted because it's one of the best places to find latin music. NYC has a large Latino community, so more than a few shops cater to them.
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This seems to be happening to books too. Walmart, Target, etc. entered the book selling business. Online stores were already in place. And the brick and mortar stores seem to be disappearing. I think that if a brick and mortar store doesn't sell MORE than just books, their days are numbered. Book stores are going to be as rare as music stores, in my opinion.
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Walmart and Target sell books. So do the people squeezing them, like CostCo and Sam's Club. But selection will be limited. Those guys sell in volume, and if it won't move in volume, it's unlikly to be ordered.
I think you're right on the "sell more than just books", however. The B&N superstore near me, for example, has new bestsellers front and center as you enter on the ground floor, with rest of floor taken up by cards/gifts/knick-knacks/nooks. Most books are on other three floors, with cafe on third. Bookstores will increasingly diversify product mix to survive.
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Dennis