B&N is really suffering from a way bigger problem in the US: The death of retail. Other than a few big cities, the cost of going to a store in the US is far higher than in Europe, just because e have to actively go to a store, instead of passing them on the way to work. This is what made American stores into big boxes: Since people had to make specific trips to the store, it paid to make them big, fill them up with lots of inventory, and make them service large areas.
But then the internet happened, and as internet retail gets getter and better, the weakest stores suffer, and the weakest of the lot are bookstores and electronics stores. We've seen competition in those areas dwindle already, because the market just couldn't hold: CompUSA, Circuit City, Borders, are gone, but it's not as if the survivors are thriving: Their sales are still getting eaten by Amazon more and more every year.
So B&N will probably manage to stay alive until the next economic crisis happens, consumers start buying a bit less, and the internet eats them alive.
In more dense urban areas, very efficient book retailers will still have a chance for a while, because it is often more convenient to buy at a local store than to buy online. They'll still have to be afraid of the switch to ebooks though.
> They'll still have to be afraid of the switch to ebooks though.
Not if they do it right. I buy ebooks and hardly ever go to a bookshop these days, but I used to love browsing through physical shelves looking for "enticing" items and miss that experience dearly. Would I pay an extra £1 or £5 to get that experience back? In a heartbeat.
What they need is an augmented experience where i can show up at the store with my e-reader, go through books, and when i find a nice one, let me "point" the reader at it to download it seamlessly. The reader should figure out I'm in a bookstore and, after fulfilling my request, send a percentage of generated revenue to the store operators.
You could do this today, either as an Amazon affiliate or with a custom website API. You don't even need to risk overstocking: get one book for each title, nothing more. You could even open the API to third parties and let indy shops bloom. But you would have to be competent, forward-looking and not afraid of change -- qualities sorely lacking in the whole retail sector, and not particularly valued in publishing either.
> What they need is an augmented experience where i can show up at the store with my e-reader, go through books, and when i find a nice one, let me "point" the reader at it to download it seamlessly. The reader should figure out I'm in a bookstore and, after fulfilling my request, send a percentage of generated revenue to the store operators.
This is actually a pretty great idea. After reading it, it feels plain silly that B&N haven't leveraged the fact that they own both physical bookstores and a reader. There's a huge relationship that they're completely not utilizing at all. And since it's all B&N, they don't even have to worry about the latter half of the idea.
I'm a B&N fan and shop there often, but that's one thing that always gets on my tit - they have totally screwed the pooch on the whole "clicks and mortar" thing. They should leverage the fact that they own retail stores and have an e-commerce side and an e-reader and make one nice, seamless experience. But no... Even worse, the experience on bn.com is pretty much shyte, especially compared to Amazon.
The whole "one click" thing aside, bn.com totally fails at coming close to Amazon in terms of discovery / recommendations / search, availability, and even visual aesthetic. I almost cringe every time I wind up on bn.com for some reason.
Somebody in another comment said their IT is stuck in 1995... I could totally see that. I hope they get things figured out, but I'm not real confident.
In Bellevue, WA there is a new and used bookstore adjacent to a food court that is packed all day every day. There's a starbucks nearby and tons of seating, and its in a mall where people bring their kids. People come to work, read or just get out of the house all the time.
Its the opposite of big box store. The biggest problem with malls is there's really almost nowhere to hang out. Community spaces seem really lax in the US, especially in the suburbs - I think thats why the millennial are flocking to the city.
Crossroads? I visited there a couple of years ago, and was amazed at how wonderful a public space it is. I don't know what the mall owners do to encourage the atmosphere they've got (though I suspect the area's demographics and high wages help), but I wish every mall was as good.
Yup. There's not even much THERE compared to other malls. A few craft stores, a game store and comic shop, a QFC grocery, and then the food court (mostly all small-owner), book store and a few kids places. The demographics do definitely help but the lack of over-wrought big-box malls with nothing but huge chain stores make it feel like you're actually in a community.
I'm not quite sure how well it's doing overall, but Books a Million, probably B&N's biggest brick and mortar competitor, seems to be doing alright in my local area. There are lots in the South (several within 30 minutes of me) and they have a lot of more discount options. I go to Target once in a while and have a BAM next door and I usually stop by. I can usually find some interesting titles for $1-$5.
> Other than a few big cities, the cost of going to a store in the US is far higher than in Europe, just because e have to actively go to a store, instead of passing them on the way to work. This is what made American stores into big boxes...
This is an artifact of American car culture and (lack of) urban planning that predates the Internet.
But then the internet happened, and as internet retail gets getter and better, the weakest stores suffer, and the weakest of the lot are bookstores and electronics stores. We've seen competition in those areas dwindle already, because the market just couldn't hold: CompUSA, Circuit City, Borders, are gone, but it's not as if the survivors are thriving: Their sales are still getting eaten by Amazon more and more every year.
So B&N will probably manage to stay alive until the next economic crisis happens, consumers start buying a bit less, and the internet eats them alive.
In more dense urban areas, very efficient book retailers will still have a chance for a while, because it is often more convenient to buy at a local store than to buy online. They'll still have to be afraid of the switch to ebooks though.