I suspect that this is both true, and contributing to the decline of eInk based devices. You can buy a tablet or phone and use it with your favourite bookstore. You can buy from multiple bookstores if that tickles your fancy. You can even borrow library books. All of this can be done from your tablet or phone.

Ereaders can't boast that ease of use unless you only use the vendor's bookstore. Want to borrow a library book, you're going to have to use your computer (with the exception of Sony and maybe Amazon in the US). Want to read book isn't available from your ereader vendor's bookstore, which is a very real possibility outside of the US, you're going to have to use your computer and maybe even break the law.

If you don't have a particular reason to buy an ereader, why would you put up with that sort of nonsense?

It's not simply a matter of hate. As far as I can tell, many people who have eInk based ereaders also have LCD based tablets. There are a multitude of reasons for this. Some are clearly based upon preference, while others are based upon suitability to task (e.g. the LCD displays found on most, if not all, tablets, cannot be read outdoors). Now I'm not saying that the ereader crowd is going to outnumber the tablet crowd, nor should it. The important thing though is that the option exists.