Yesterday I did my usual get out of the house drive to my nearest bookstore - in this case it was Exclusive Books - and as I was browsing around I realized I’m not really here to buy a book. I am really just here to clear my head, this made me think. I generally spend loads of money on books I would only read once, maybe twice, and then never touch it again. So why buy the book, why not rent it or read it in store. At this point I started think what would be in it for the bookstore, and as it stands right now nothing.
Currently the bookstores do not monetize the in-store readers they have. They are basically just turning a blind eye because they assume a reader will be a buyer. However what if they reader never buys a book, what if they are there to relax get a coffee and read a book? This works for the reader however every time they get there they have to remember where the book was - if they weren’t done - and also the page they were on.
My idea around monetizing this in-store reading is allowing members to pay a period based subscription which would allow them to read x number of books in store per period and have that book say kept for a few days. The cost of the book will be offset against the subscription fees, and it can afterwards be sold at a reduced rate as a second hand book. The benefit the reader has with this is that he will feel less criminal or shady about reading in-store and he can now have the book bookmarked and he can come back later and finish the book up.
This model will allow people who can’t actually afford the books to either buy a subscription allowing them to read as they pay or buy the book later at a reduced rate – not because he had read it but because 20 others have as well. I do however think the same people who buy new books now will still buy the same amount of new books and perhaps read in store as well depending on the time they have available.
I know there will be books I would buy to keep and there will be those I would read in-store. I would imagine this will create some sort of hybrid library almost, and can see more bookstores designing their stores much like lounges with waiters getting you coffee etc.