Even through the mobile and internet markets are great purchasing, MSNBC reports that college students are still drawn to physical textbooks. While most publishers offer the choice for an electronic copy of textbooks, students would rather carry printed textbooks to the classroom and the library. This could be an indication to merchants that they need to continue maintaining their stocks of physical textbooks.

"We have found that digital textbooks are still not as popular with students," Charles Schmidt, a spokesman for the National Association of College Stores, told the news network.

The price of an e-book can be anywhere from 60-70 percent of a printed version. However, a poll from the NACS found that up to 74 percent of college students still like having a printed book in their hands. According to Schmidt, this might be because most e-books are just PDF files of the printed book and renting the book is much cheaper.

While most students are used to handling content online, having a physical book that can be written on or flipped through is something that most students are willing to pay more for. Schmidt also told MSNBC that most professors are not comfortable with their students only having the e-book version for their classes.

As college bookstores gear up for students coming back to school this fall, they could see a benefit in utilizing the software solutions offered by Retail Pro.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, August 9th, 2012 at 7:30 am .