I get the sense that Mike is at his wits end on the bookstore issue. And I’d not blame him for that. There does sometimes seem to be a willful process of ignoring the impact the digital changes will have on bookstores.
So the race between single-function e-ink and more full-function tablets accelerates the movement from print to digital book consumption; and the move from print to digital book consumption accelerates the shift from store-based purchasing to online purchasing; and the shift to online book purchasing, whether print or digital, accelerates the reduction of brick-and-mortar shelf space.
And the reduction of brick-and-mortar shelf space increasingly challenges the core proposition of all of today’s largest book publishers.
via Where will bookstores be five years from now? – The Shatzkin Files.
Filed under: Future of Publishing, Barnes & Noble, Books, Bookselling, bricks & mortart, future of books, future of bookselling, mike shatzkin
