In this new generation, most people read books online through applications on their smartphone. But there are also some people who love to walk into physical book stores to buy and read some of their favourite books.
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of shopping for books in physical book stores.
Pros:
You have the chance to thumb through books.
Visiting a physicalbook store enables you to pick up the books and thumb through the pages you want to read. You can even start reading the book and find out if it’s perfect for you. Online retailers may offer a preview of a few pages, but inabook store, you can select any pages you would like to read.
They cater to a local audience.
Physical book store locations, specifically small, independent book stores, can cater their offerings to the local audience, something that an online retailer can’t easily do.
There’s a sense of community.
Just like library, a book store is a place for bookworms to gather. Book stores hold events such as author readings and book signings that create goodwill in the community. Besides picking out a new book, there’s usually more going on in the store for a visitor to enjoy.
There’s an emotional connection.
It’s almost impossible to refresh the feeling you get walking into a physical store as opposed to shopping online. Maybe, the book store can remind you of something like your first trip to the library or one of the first books you fell in love with or it’s just the smell of the books. Especially for those who love to read, just being in a book store is an emotional experience, one that online retailers are hard pressed to copy.
Cons:
You have less access to reviews.
If you’re buying a book online, you can easily scroll the sales page to check reviews. These reviews can help you decide whether you’ll buy the book or not. Yes, people can pull up reviews on their phone but, unlike online, it’s much less convenient.
Prices are higher.
Because an online retailer doesn’t have the overhead and other costs associated with operating a store, it’s typically able to sell books for cheaper prices.
Stocks are limited.
Physical book stores only have so much space, which means their inventory is only limited. If you’re looking for a very popular or a newly released book, it might be already sold out, or, the bookstore might not carry an unknown title.
Find your favourite books at your favourite local book stores.