[LINK] Why people buy books online

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Jan and David write,

> > .. You can see why the book stores went out of business..
> As industries age, they stack on a lot of fat. Excess weight
> kills industries, just as it does people.


True. Many forms of traditional retailing could appear to face issues
going forward. For example, online retailing may go bricks-and-mortar:

Paul Kunert, 18 Nov 2011, www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/18/ebat_store

eBay is launching its first UK store .. The pop-up boutique opens in 
London's West End for just five days from 1 December.. Dubbed a "Quick 
Response (QR) code shopping emporium", eBay is luring in prospective 
buyers with the promise of up to 70 per cent discounts.

But while consumers can saunter about the store they can only buy online 
using a smartphone or some other connected mobile device. Each product 
has its own QR code, said eBay. Shoppers simply scan the QR code with 
their smartphone – no tills, no queues, no bags, no stress. 

The online trader expects 5.8 million shoppers to log on during the five
day fest, with sales forecast to peak at 30 gifts per second (GPS), up 
from 16 in the same period during 2010.

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Cheers,
Stephen