As more “bricks and mortar” book-stores struggle to survive Waterstones appears to be using electronic books as a way to stay ahead as technology steals sales from real paper books. The store has been selling ebook readers for the last few years, and ebooks too. Now though, it seems that a new Waterstones Ebook Reader is in the makings.
Thought to be released in spring of 2012 the Waterstones Reader might just do for the store, what the Nook reader has done for Barnes & Noble; ie allow it to compete with the might of Amazon and its Kindle. As much as we are fans of Amazon’s ebook reader, the thought of more competition in the growing UK eReader market has to be a good thing. If nothing else it is sure to keep prices down, and innovation high. Whilst the store will need to improve its ebook range, plus allow wireless instant downloads of new titles to really compete, a new way to keep as many real book shops open can’t be a bad thing.
So, as much as we doubt we’ll be leaving the Kindle behind just yet, a new Waterstones ebook reader should be welcomed. It will be interesting to see just how they differentiate their eReader though. The store will need to offer something unique to get buyers interested, so perhaps a low priced touch-screen reader and mini tablet would be a good range to start with. After all its working for Barnes & Noble, so why not the UK’s favourite book shop?
There is no official line from the store yet, but James Daunt, the company’s MD talked to Radio 4 (reported by the BBC) suggesting that the future involved the store selling an ebook reader better than Amazon’s current readers. Perhaps they will follow their American counterparts by allowing users to read in store for free. Tying the electronic device with real stores has been a unique selling point for the Nook, and is said to be inspiring Mr Daunt.
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