Andrea C. Lloyd

In this increasingly digital world, people are turning to their Kindles or Amazon.com for their book needs. However, physical bookstores are still very active. Why? This study reports on characteristics of a community-centric bookstore, and the motivations of its patrons. Over a period of approximately 10 days, respondents completed a survey regarding experiences at BookPeople in Austin, Texas, as well as reading habits in general. The survey consisted of 32 questions, and took approximately five minutes or less to complete. One filter question removed respondents that had never been to BookPeople before, which acted as our validation process.

Based on correlations we discovered through data from the surveys mentioned, we found the following:

• The biggest factor that motivated patrons to physically go to bookstores is how relaxed and not stressed they felt when they were there

• The more interactions patrons have with BookPeople employees, the more likely they are to return, contributing to the sense of belonging they feel to the store

• When there is less pressure to buy things and more importance placed on the experience patrons have in the store, patrons are likely to return

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