Remember the days when going to the book store meant taking a leisurely stroll through the rows with the smell of newly-bound books in the air? But what about those people who don't live within ten, fifteen or even twenty minutes of a book store? What about those people who don't want to deal with the occasionally-rude staff or the irritating lines at the counter? There's more than one reason online book stores have changed the book world forever.
There is, of course, the convenience factor. There's a lot to be said for buying a book from the comfort of your home and with services like Amazon's Prime membership (an online bookstore rated highly by StarReviews), you can get two-day express shipping for free on most of your book purchases. Add that to the fact that online book stores often charge less than their brick-and-mortar counterparts and it's not hard to see why online book sales have increased while brick-and-mortar outfits are in dire straights (as evidenced by the recent tumble of Borders' stock).
So will brick-and-mortar bookstores soon become a thing of the past? Probably not. They may, however, become farther and fewer between and may cater to the readers who wish to sit with a cup of coffee (we can already witness the Starbucks in the Barnes & Noble) and a new book rather than the book-buying public in general.