“Bookstores remain critical showrooms for works by new or lesser-known authors and for entire categories of books, such as children’s picture books. Marketing studies consistently show that readers are far more open to trying new genres and new authors when in a bookstore than when shopping online.
It seems to come down to browsing versus searching. Brick-and-mortar bookstores are optimized for browsing; the stores’ ‘search engines’ – their information desks – aren’t what draw in customers. A reader browsing the shelves and tables of a bookstore is often hoping to discover something unexpected. Virtual bookstores, on the other hand, are optimized for search – browsing isn’t the attraction. Readers behave accordingly, tending to use virtual bookstores as search engines to find books they’ve discovered elsewhere.”
- The Authors Guild, hat tip Janet Kobobel Grant | BooksAndSuch.biz | 6/11/12
Read the full article here for tips on overcoming the discoverability challenge, including:
- Partnering with your local independent bookstore
- Using social media
- Shopping at independent bookstores
