[rhadin]

The biggest problem is the pricing disparity. Even at B&N, there is a significant difference between what a book costs in the physicalk store and what it costs online. I used to buy 95% of my hardcover purchases at my local B&N store, but then then changed the member discount from 20% to 10%. This created a huge pricing gap between what a book was discounted online (often 28% or more) and in the store (10%) -- a gap that became more than I was willing to foot considering the number of hardcover books I buy each year (50+). So B&N moved me from an instore customer to an online customer.

The problem that physical bookstores will have to face in the future is the pricing disparity. The easiest way around that is for the b&m stores to offer something unique, something that cannot be bought at an online store and/or for the publishers to invest in the b&m stores to turn them into a showroom. I suppose a third option might be to change the current system of distribution and payment to follow more closely the model used in the American automobile industry, which assures a profit on the sale of every automobile, even on one bought at dealer invoice price.

I do think that the demise of b&m stores will be disastrous for publishers and authors. I realize that many members of MR do not step foot into a b&m bookstore, but as with most other things ebook related, MR members are not the average bookbuyer. Authors and books are often discovered by readers in b&m bookstores, even if the books are bought online.