From a Toronto Star Article:
North American industry data show that campus bookstore total sales and textbook sales are declining, typically between 3 to 6 per cent per year, according to [Chad] Saunders [vice president retail for University of Toronto Press]. It’s a hit that mirrors the challenges facing independent book sellers in the digital age amid growing online competition from services like Amazon.
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…Kelly Abraham, associate director of the campus store at Ryerson University, says they’ve recently seen a hit — a 6 to 8 per cent drop in textbook sales for the 2014 to 2015 academic year. He says they’re bracing for a continued shift to digital by offering more textbooks online.
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Saunders says University of Toronto Press conducts regular customer surveys, including six last year that elicited over 10,000 total responses. One survey in January revealed that only 7 per cent of students would opt for an e-book when given the choice of buying or renting a new or used book, or buying a six-month e-book subscription at 60 per cent off. That’s only a slight increase from the 6 per cent who said they’d do the same in 2011.
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