We’ve all had a helpful bookseller recommend a book at some point. They have those freakish encyclopedia brains that remember every book they have on their shelves. The problem, though, is that more and more people are making purchasing decisions online and it is very difficult to replicate the helpful bookseller experience on the web. Two book recommendation engines—BookLamp and Whichbook—are trying to solve this problem.
Online Reviews Sell Books, So Let People Post Them
Customer reviews are becoming an increasingly common element of product sites. Customer reviews have been on Amazon.ca for as long as I can remember and they’re also on the Chapters website. Reader reviews fuel Goodreads. But why haven’t publishers jumped on board, especially those selling directly from their sites? And why aren’t customer reviews being built into a retailer website creation or redesign?
Is Pottermore a Game Changer?
Going Mobile
A recent New York Times article pointed to the need for retailers to retool their sites for mobile shopping. There is an opportunity here for book retailers too, if not exactly to lead the way, then at least not to lag too far behind. It would seem like there is no time like the present to get your e-commerce site optimized for the mobile space. It isn’t really rocket science. Here are a few things you may want to consider when thinking about this…
You Need to Know: The Canadian Book Market 2010
Every year BookNet Canada publishes The Canadian Book Market. I think you can guess what it’s about.
The CBM is the comprehensive guide to the Canadian book trade. It includes in-depth analysis, comparative data and statistics making it essential reading for anyone involved in the book industry in Canada.
As the industry changes and becomes more and more competitive, can you afford not to know it inside out?
Are We Relevant Yet?
A Book Algorithm that Works
Many businesses use algorithms to make product recommendations, including book retailers such as Amazon and Chapters. If your customer base is large and mostly online it’s an easy way to generate recommendations for a wide range of customers. But when it comes to books, the system hasn’t always served the customer well.
The Retailer Benefits of CataList
There is no question that moving to online catalogues will benefit everyone. The benefits for publishers and wholesalers may be more obvious, but booksellers will also have new capabilities in CataList that weren’t possible before. These are probably worth a closer look.
Canada Reads 2011: Will the New Format Change Sales Patterns?
Canada Reads 2011 has come to a close with Terry Fallis taking home the prize for his novel The Best Laid Plans.
A few of us at BNC were lucky enough to attend the debates this week.
TEDBooks and Kindle Singles: Spreading Ideas in a Closed System?
Yesterday, TED announced the launch of TEDBooks—“an imprint of short nonfiction works designed for digital distribution”—via Amazon’s new Kindle Singles channel.
