MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - An observation on readers being sold

GeoffC · 03-02-2011, 06:49 AM

The city close by me is a cosmopolitan one, the Oil Capital of Europe, so it ought to have a fairly sophisticated population; but I have yet to see another reader being used in the wild.

Yesterday I browsed ... …

Amazon Kindle for sale in a local Tesco (one of the large UK stores; started as grocer, now sells anything):
The display is in a prime footfall location - near entrance. No one looked as they went by. The display rack was full, the boxes brown, plain and uninspiring.
No reader was nakedly on display. In short, no one looked as though they were interested.

John Lewis (department store):
Amazon Kindle on display in the electronic department. Two racks, full. As with Tesco, uninspiring boxes and display.
No one looking and no reader was nakedly on display.

Sony Store:
5 Sony Readers on display, 3 together and 2 separately and elsewhere in the shop. 2 were not working, one had an obviously damaged display.
No one looking, assistants not bothered.

Waterstones: Book Store.
3 Sony Readers on display, none of them working. 2 Elonex Readers on display, one working, the other was - but nothing on it to look at.

In none of these stores did there appear to be any attempt to interest buyers in the device.

Apple Store:
Fairly well patronised, numerous iPod and iPad on display, and most with an occupant. Blue-coated assistants actively wandering around and answering questions.

Car-phone Warehouse (Comms store) - within 3 shops of the Apple store: iPad and iPod on sale, assistants around and customers looking.

As an experience of one small city, and albeit a small time snapshot, it is easy to see how and why Apple are proving a more successful operator.

03-02-2011, 06:49 AM	#1
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,599 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	An observation on readers being sold - or not The city close by me is a cosmopolitan one, the Oil Capital of Europe, so it ought to have a fairly sophisticated population; but I have yet to see another reader being used in the wild. Yesterday I browsed ... … Amazon Kindle for sale in a local Tesco (one of the large UK stores; started as grocer, now sells anything): The display is in a prime footfall location - near entrance. No one looked as they went by. The display rack was full, the boxes brown, plain and uninspiring. No reader was nakedly on display. In short, no one looked as though they were interested. John Lewis (department store): Amazon Kindle on display in the electronic department. Two racks, full. As with Tesco, uninspiring boxes and display. No one looking and no reader was nakedly on display. Sony Store: 5 Sony Readers on display, 3 together and 2 separately and elsewhere in the shop. 2 were not working, one had an obviously damaged display. No one looking, assistants not bothered. Waterstones: Book Store. 3 Sony Readers on display, none of them working. 2 Elonex Readers on display, one working, the other was - but nothing on it to look at. In none of these stores did there appear to be any attempt to interest buyers in the device. Apple Store: Fairly well patronised, numerous iPod and iPad on display, and most with an occupant. Blue-coated assistants actively wandering around and answering questions. Car-phone Warehouse (Comms store) - within 3 shops of the Apple store: iPad and iPod on sale, assistants around and customers looking. As an experience of one small city, and albeit a small time snapshot, it is easy to see how and why Apple are proving a more successful operator.