A sister report to our annual Business of Consumer Book Publishing and new for 2009, Trends in Trade Book Retailing compiles national data on who is buying books, what they're buying and where they’re buying them, as well as detailed overviews of the major channels and how their market share is trending.

The one-upmanship of Amazon, Walmart and Target's price war for new hardcover releases in fall 2009 was foreshadowed in the report, which also spells out the consumer share of online and non-bookstore retailing channels.

The report provides a “scorecard” for each channel—bookstores, the Internet, book clubs, and “other”—and a demographic overview of the average consumer who uses each, including book clubs. Simba compiled data from Simmons Market Research Bureau’s national consumer survey for this analysis. The four channels are also ranked by the estimated number of customers, what formats they buy, and how many titles the consumers purchase.

To gain a better understanding of the relationship consumers have with books on the retail level, Simba has added this essential analysis to its research collection.

With the book retailing segment as challenged as it is, no publisher, retailer, or industry analyst can afford not to have this vital tool.

Additional Information

Stamford, CT—October 19, 2009—Simba Information, which recently produced the groundbreaking Trade E-Book Publishing 2009 and Overview of the U.S. Comic Book & Graphic Novel Market, this year also added Trends in Trade Book Retailing 2009 to its research offerings. The one-upmanship of Amazon and Walmart's recent price war is foreshadowed in the report, which also spells out the consumer share of online and non-bookstore retailing channels.

“A lot of the coverage over what happened last week between Amazon and Walmart makes it look like this price war came out of the blue," Michael Norris, senior analyst at Simba Information. "But Wal-Mart has expanded its presence in books quietly for years, and our ongoing pricing analysis tells us the two companies have been paying attention to each other for some time."

While the total number of bookstores in the U.S. has shrunk significantly over the years, the number of big-box department stores has jumped, the Simba study found. “Big-box stores have a place in the retailing ecosystem, but when you combine the convenience of the ‘non-bookstores’ with their ability to sell popular books at a loss you get a volatile situation for the entire industry.”

According to the report, the number of U.S. adults who have bought books at a non-bookstore physical retail location exceeds the number who purchase books online by about 10 million consumers.

The report also provides a “scorecard” for each channel—bookstores, the Internet, book clubs, and “other”—and a demographic overview of the average consumer who uses each, including book clubs. Simba compiled data from Simmons Market Research Bureau’s national consumer survey for this analysis. The four channels are also ranked by the estimated number of customers, what formats they buy, and how many titles the consumers purchase.

For additional information please visit www.simbainformation.com or contact Warren Pawlowski at 203-325-8193 x114.

About Simba Information:

Simba Information is widely recognized as the leading authority for market intelligence in the media and publishing industry. Simba's extensive information network delivers top quality, independent perspective on the people, events and alliances shaping the media and information industry. Simba provides consulting and reports that provide key decision-makers at more than 15,000 client companies around the globe with timely analysis, exclusive statistics and proprietary industry forecasts. For more information, please visit www.simbainformation.com.