Nook didn't stand up under the holiday pressure according to a report

3820 Views 42 Replies 26 Participants Last post by Becca Mills, Jan 4, 2013

FrankZubek

Discussion Starter · Jan 3, 2013

http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/barnes-noble-holiday-sales-down-nook/

This report says that the Nook underperformed over the holiday
Does this mean more consumers prefer Kindle?

Does anyone have a link that reveals how many people are simply adding an amazon APP to their phone instead of getting a Kindle ( or a Nook?)?

1 - 20 of 43 Posts

yomamma

· #2 · Jan 3, 2013

I blame B&Ns own search engine for this. How many people lost their keywords in December and saw sales flatline? *raises hand*

How many people still can't fix their keywords on the B&N website because it errors out?

*raises hand*

How many people have never gotten a response from anyone at B&N on technical issues?

*raises hand*

I love the Nook platform and for a while there I was making good money, but they need to get their stuff together.

Lummox JR

· #3 · Jan 3, 2013

Every time I went into a B&N while Christmas shopping I saw a bunch of people checking out the Nook, and each store had a person guiding them through all the features. Interest was definitely there from what I saw, and I know several satisfied Nook owners. I wonder if "fell short of expectations" in this case mans corporate had unrealistic sales goals. B&N had to know the new Kindles were coming out, so if they failed to plan for the buzz from that it would explain a ton.

This is probably unrelated to PubIt having so many problems, but I suppose it's possible that if readers experienced as much trouble as writers have with it, word could have gotten around. It's more likely, as is often the case, they simply have a distorted view of their current situation and outlook. The PubIt problems could easily be symptoms of that.

Lisa Grace

· #4 · Jan 3, 2013

Here is an article from the NYT:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/20/e-book-reader-tablets-cannibalized/

and then this:
Ebooks Slowly Overtaking Physical Books
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2413618,00.asp

Kathleen Valentine

· #5 · Jan 3, 2013

B&N has never been very productive for me. Since the first of this month I've had 100 sales on Amazon and 3 on B&N. I sometimes wonder why I bother. I think a LOT of people are using the Kindle App for their devices. I know of several. Tablets have become so popular that they seem to be zooming ahead, too.

FrankZubek

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 3, 2013

Jill- perhaps one answer to the lack of infrastructure there is that MAYBE "the suits" way up in the tower figure the e-book thing is a fad and they have to kind of appear to be making an effort to support some sort of step forward into e-books and yet they don't want to fully commit to spending the kind of money needed to properly support the Nook format?

I mean the foundation the company is sitting on is paper based and everyone IN the paper industry is still pretty scared of the near future and the continued dipping sales of paper based books aside from the usual staple authors who keep cranking out their yearly output.

Personally I still think they should be having weekly meetings trying to figure how to more smoothly meld the e-format and the paper format so that the all important customer- us readers out here in the cold as well as making a full out ( and better) effort to bring in the casual readers who've been distracted by all the other cooler visual treats in the marketplace- can fully enjoy this electronic transition instead of the continued frustrations of the market place that both readers and writers have been having

Whatever else is going to happen in the literacy industry this year- I fear that it won't be boring

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Shadow XX

· #7 · Jan 3, 2013

B&N and the Nook actually look pretty solid to me. It's hard to say, but part of me prefers it to the Kindle. It's a lot more simple, fewer distractions on the device itself, much more focussed.

I think if the Nook underperformed it would be down to the B&N website more than anything else.

Lisa Grace

· #8 · Jan 3, 2013

Globally, both Nook and Kindle may lose market share to all kinds of .epub reading devices.

David Thayer

· #9 · Jan 3, 2013

I own a Nook Color and find it useful. As a writer, though, I hesitate to publish on B&N for reasons that elude me.

JRTomlin

· #10 · Jan 3, 2013

LisaGraceBooks said:
Globally, both Nook and Kindle may lose market share to all kinds of .epub reading devices.

I don't see it matters much which kind of device people read e-books on as long as they read them, which growing numbers do. I think that heavy readers will continue to prefer a dedicated e-reader. They are simply a better device for reading for extended periods, but that really doesn't matter. Whether Nook is placed to face the competition from tablets or not is another question.

Kathleen Valentine

· #11 · Jan 3, 2013

JRTomlin said:
I don't see it matters much which kind of device people read e-books on as long as they read them, which growing numbers do.

Agree.

Saul Tanpepper

· #12 · Jan 3, 2013

JRTomlin said:
I don't see it matters much which kind of device people read e-books on as long as they read them, which growing numbers do. I think that heavy readers will continue to prefer a dedicated e-reader. They are simply a better device for reading for extended periods, but that really doesn't matter. Whether Nook is placed to face the competition from tablets or not is another question.

It comes down to how much time and effort do I spend on PubIt! If they can't be bothered to fix their submission dashboard and tags, respond to emails, and help the fastest growing part of their vendor business (indies), then I don't have much confidence or willingness to do business with them. I know, I know, no one says I have to, but that's no argument in defense of their poor practices lately.

Zelah Meyer

· #13 · Jan 3, 2013

Anyone else notice this article, linked in the Passive Voice blog?: http://www.thepassivevoice.com/01/2013/pearson-buys-5-stake-in-nook-media/ Pearson (who own Penguin) are buying a 5% stake in Nook Media, with the option to buy another 5%. I think that's very interesting.

Zoe Cannon

· #14 · Jan 3, 2013

Am I the only one who really doesn't like reading on apps? I occasionally use the Nook and Kindle apps on my phone, when I don't have another option, but it's so clunky and frustrating compared to using my reader. (Plus, nothing beats the e-ink screen for me.)

As for the Nook, I don't know. I keep hearing people talk about how unpopular it is, but half the people I know who read ebooks have Nooks. I wonder if there's a regional component to which readers are more popular.

Terrence OBrien

· #15 · Jan 3, 2013

"Does anyone have a link that reveals how many people are simply adding an amazon APP to their phone instead of getting a Kindle ( or a Nook?)?"

I don't have figures, but I do have an iPhone and iPad that both have the apps for Kindle, Nook, and Apple.

"It comes down to how much time and effort do I spend on PubIt! If they can't be bothered to fix their submission dashboard and tags, respond to emails, and help the fastest growing part of their vendor business (indies), then I don't have much confidence or willingness to do business with them."

From their behavior, I'd say independent authors don't figure much in their strategy. It's mutual.

JRTomlin

· #16 · Jan 3, 2013

Saul Tanpepper said:
It comes down to how much time and effort do I spend on PubIt! If they can't be bothered to fix their submission dashboard and tags, respond to emails, and help the fastest growing part of their vendor business (indies), then I don't have much confidence or willingness to do business with them. I know, I know, no one says I have to, but that's no argument in defense of their poor practices lately.

Saul, I agree with you. I am gradually taking my own books out of Select, but that is to put them up on iBooks, not B&N.

B&N has shown a stubborn refusal to take digital business seriously. They don't fix problems or address CS concerns; they DO allow spam in their reviews; they don't do email blasts or give any means of promotion. I consider them pretty much a total waste--for me anyway. I realize there are some people who don't feel that way.

Zoe Cannon said:
Am I the only one who really doesn't like reading on apps? I occasionally use the Nook and Kindle apps on my phone, when I don't have another option, but it's so clunky and frustrating compared to using my reader. (Plus, nothing beats the e-ink screen for me.)

As for the Nook, I don't know. I keep hearing people talk about how unpopular it is, but half the people I know who read ebooks have Nooks. I wonder if there's a regional component to which readers are more popular.

I think most of us "heavy" readers feel that way, Zoe. I don't think e-readers are going away, but it's a matter of if you only read a few books a year, you don't necessarily need one. If you read several books a week, of course you do!

ETA: I don't know anyone who owns a Nook and don't *think* I've ever seen anyone using one. I use a Sony for if I want to read an epub book and rather like it although it's very old now.

Amanda Brice

· #17 · Jan 3, 2013

Zoe Cannon said:
Am I the only one who really doesn't like reading on apps?

I thoroughly detest reading on apps. HATE it. My Kindle broke a few days before Christmas and I haven't had a chance to replace it yet -- so I've been diving into my stack of paperbacks instead of all the new ebooks I've bought or downloaded for free.

As for whether I know people with Nooks, I do know more people with Kindles, but know plenty of people who own Nooks. I don't know anyone with a Sony or Kobo, however.

Terrence OBrien

· #18 · Jan 3, 2013

I have a Sony. The first one. It came out a few months before the Kindle. Still works fine.

B. Justin Shier

· #19 · Jan 3, 2013

Neither did the iPad.

http://insights.chitika.com/2013/2012-holiday-mobile-update/

http://www.zdnet.com/ipad-suffers-dramatic-post-christmas-web-share-fall-report-7000009332/

The market is crowding. Great news for consumers.

B.

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Incognita

· #20 · Jan 3, 2013

B. Justin Shier said:
Neither did the iPad.

http://insights.chitika.com/2013/2012-holiday-mobile-update/

http://www.zdnet.com/ipad-suffers-dramatic-post-christmas-web-share-fall-report-7000009332/

The market is crowding. Great news for consumers.

B.

I don't know what the price points are for all those devices, but I'm guessing they're all a good deal less expensive than the iPad. Maybe it's because I'm cheap, but I don't spend that much on individual Christmas presents.

I do think it's great that there's more choice now...now if only my sales on other platforms would be even a quarter as good as they are on Amazon!

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