As eBook Sales Increase, Giant Bookstore Chain Innovates

The Library of Congress may soon be outgrown by digital libraries, and browsing the displays on a bookstore's shelves may no longer make sense to readers one day.
By far, that has not happened. And it could be a wild prediction on our side. But the shootup on e-Book sales for the first five months this year is making some noise. From last year’s 2.9% (within the same period), the relatively cheaper e-Books have rendered the trade sales up to 8.5%. And while digital books are enjoying the growth spurt, bookstore chains are tackling shrinking profits and store traffic volume.
The arrival of the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad has forcibly thrown a competition against hardcovers and bookstore chains such as Barnes and Nobles, the largest and most powerful in the country. Online books have revolutionized not only the reading experience but also the shopping behavior of people.
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