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By Joanna

starbucks.jpgI have seen the future saviour of the publishing industry, and it’s not the agents or the executives or the distributors. It’s Starbucks. I was there for the first time today following the roll-out of Canada/USA-wide free wifi at every Starbucks location, and it really hit me how the publishing industry stands to benefit from the growing ubiquity of in-store coffee shops and free public wifi.

A COFFEE SHOP AT EVERY BOOKSTORE

In Canada, the major bookstore chain is Indigo. They are in every mall, in every community, all over the big cities and in every town. And each of them has a Starbucks—and therefore, free wifi.

The one nearest to me is literally half a block away and is located in a mall which is attached to the subway. I am a transit user and don’t drive, so this is on my way home. It is also open until 11 pm and is air-conditioned. This makes is a very pleasant and handy place to hang out if I have nothing better to do.

But is the free wifi something that will draw me into the store when I might not otherwise go? And does its presence actually lead to an increase in media consumption of print books, ebooks or anything else?

A NIGHT IN THE LIFE OF THE WIRED URBAN WARRIOR

Let’s take tonight as a case study. I was out for an hour to tutor a student, and decided to stop at Indigo on my way home. There was a cookbook I had been eying, and I wanted to have another look at it before I took the plunge. By the time I had checked things out to my satisfaction and made my purchase, I was feeling like a snack and thought I would browse my new book over a frappucino.
I was coming from tutoring and had the iPad with me—I have a pay membership at a teaching website which lets me customize and print off PDF stories, reading comprehension activities and worksheets of various types. I typically keep several on the iPad (saves paper that way!) so I always have a backup activity in case my student needs one. And it was a lucky thing I had it tonight because, unlike a paper book, I can use the iPad with one hand (and save the other for the muffin and frothy drink) and if it does get dump or crumbly, I can wipe it off easily. I didn’t want to spill frothy drink on my new paper book, so having it with me tonight definitely incited me to stay and hang at Starbucks when I wouldn’t have otherwise!

Media tally so far:

- 1 purchased e-storybook used while tutoring
- 1 purchased print cookbook from the bookstore

THE WIFI MEDIA EXPERIENCE

I tucked in with my coffee and spent ten minutes or so catching up on the news headlines. While I was reading, I got a ‘new email’ alert. One of the messages was from Zinio informing me that a new issue of a magazine I subscribe to was ready. I immediately quit Safari and opened up the Zinio app. Thanks to the free wifi, I could download the issue on the spot and start reading!

Before I packed up to go home, I opened Google Docs and put the new cookbook purchase into my budget tracker. I use several Google services and have a custom homepage set up which amalgamates some of my stuff into one convenient browser. While I was in there, I saw a reminder on my to-do list about the Smashwords sale going on right now, and I thought why not get that checked off while I was nice and comfy with the frothy drink, air conditioning and free wifi.

So I went on over to Smashwords and checked out the sale books. I passed on many of them—I have become more discriminating lately and no longer download things just because they are there—but there were a few books I sampled on the spot, and two I opted to purchase. Smashwords let me download them to iBooks right from the browser, and it also emailed me a receipt, which will be a handy reminder when I get home so I can find the books again to download onto the Macbook for backup.

Media tally so far:

- 1 purchased e-storybook used while tutoring
- 1 purchased print cookbook from the bookstore
- 3 free (but ad-filled) newspaper articles
- 1 purchased Zinio magazine
- Use of free (but ad-filled) Google services
- 2 purchased books from Smashwords (and several others sampled)
- And it’s not media, but let’s not forget the impulse fancy drink I paid Starbucks for

CONCLUSION: ALL HAIL STARBUCKS, THE SAVIOUR OF PUBLISHING

The Starbucks wifi presence did not necessarily make me purchase new media in and of itself, but it certainly facilitated it. And it definitely facilitated consumption of media I purchased already. After all, I would not have gotten a Zinio subscription in the first place if it wasn’t dead easy to download and get the magazines when they were ready. Yes, I could have waited until I got home. But why should I? Why not enjoy my paid-for new magazine issue over a pleasant treat in book-filled, air-conditioned splendor? Why not have the means to browse the new release table in person and make an informed e-purchase on the spot while the book is fresh in my mind? Why not have the means to impulse-buy at a site like Smashwords so I have something to read over a cup of coffee?

One reason soft drinks are so popular is their availability in every vending machine. One reason chips are a popular snack is their availability in every gas station and corner store. Starbucks can help publishers push books into this category. They already have a book connection in customer’s minds here because of their retail partnership with Indigo (and it is worth noting that purchase number 2 on my media-filled journey tonight was actually a print book from the bricks-and-mortar Indigo store where the Starbucks was located). But now, I can make any Starbucks an Indigo. I can sit there with my coffee and buy books, magazines or anything else I might find at the physical store. Why would this be anything but a win-win situation?

 
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