The long-term
trend of consumers buying more books on impulse at bricks-and-mortar stores
than at online retailers continued in 2012, according to Bowker’s 2013 U.S.
Book Consumer Demographics and Book Buying Behaviors Annual Review. In 2012,
28% of all books purchased in stores were bought on impulse, while 13% of books
bought at online retailers were sold on impulse—an increase of one percentage
point in both cases over the previous year. Planned purchases accounted for 43%
of books bought at online retailers last year, up from 42% in 2011, while
planned purchases at physical retailers accounted for 29% of units, up from
27%. In 2012, a third buying option began to gain some traction, as consumers
used smartphones and mobile devices to make all sorts of purchases. Mobile book
buyers tended to favor planned purchases (37% of units bought via smartphones
were planned buys).
