Julie, The Average Nook Owner....

[frantastk]

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keriflur wrote:

My understanding is that most companies see it as more important to fully hook their target market rather than expanding their market reach to those outside of their "average customer" demographics.  The fear is that they'll alienate their average customer.  Also, some companies see it as their niche.

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Well, I actually fit the demographic as in I am a 36 year old woman with 3 kids. (They are not allowed to run around in stores or touch anything, except the toys specifically laid out to be played with in the kids' section or books we plan on buying.) But, I don't own either a nook color or tablet. I can't afford to buy either since I spend all my time at home with the 3 kids. I also would not allow my kids to play with one if I owned one, since it would be mama's toy. My 10 year old has an ipod touch (he's had in since he was 6 so he's very good with his electronics) that the kids play with when we have long waits and they get bored with their books and crayons. I did give them my N1E that they share and they all 3 know how to use it properly and no one has dropped it yet (except me, of course).

I do keep a few kids' books on my nook for times when th3 4 year old is especially squirmy. She likes to sit in my lap and have me read to her or look at the pictures. Alice in Wonderland is her current fave. I don't know that I'd buy more than one of the kids' apps for those sorts of occasions, though, if any, since my kids really do like it when I take the time to read to them myself.

I want to know where they got their list of things women want. What I want is a little extra time to shower, or maybe to be allowed to get to the end of a chapter without being interrupted. I would pay extra. 

[MacMcK1957]

I think they're missing a huge opportunity in not launching a specifically targeted campaign to the elderly market. Even though it's not a tech-savvy group there's a huge potential there, since ebooks are very price-competitive vs large print. My mom tells me that more and more of her friends are going to Nook or Kindle instead of the large print books that are big, heavy, and expensive.

[patgolfneb]

I don't know about elderly, but 50-55 and older are prime readers and a portion of that group are likely to find the in store classes and amenities attractive. The retired portion, especially women, stores already do this some, like including a social element. Perhaps a cafe discount if you have your book club of 6 or more. Some of this is done by individual stores I believe, but doesn't seem to be a company wide emphasis.

[Doug_Pardee Distinguished Bibliophile]

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MacMcK1957 wrote:

I think they're missing a huge opportunity in not launching a specifically targeted campaign to the elderly market.

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*ahem*

"Mature market".

[MacMcK1957]

The 50-55 age group (that would be me) doesn't normally suffer from vision difficulties, while most people over 65 have some sort of impairment, and ereaders are the ideal solution.  There are major things that B&N could do to reach out to this market, tops on the list being the ability to use larger fonts in the menus and home page. 

[MacMcK1957]

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Doug_Pardee wrote:

*ahem*

"Mature market".

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Uh, yeah.  Right..

[Sun_Cat]

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MacMcK1957 wrote:

The 50-55 age group (that would be me) doesn't normally suffer from vision difficulties, while most people over 65 have some sort of impairment, and ereaders are the ideal solution.  There are major things that B&N could do to reach out to this market, tops on the list being the ability to use larger fonts in the menus and home page. 

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Not so. Symptoms of presbyopia typically start around age 40 - 45 and progress for 10 - 20 years after that. Reading glasses usually suffice to correct for presbyopia, but larger type helps a lot too.

[MacMcK1957]

Most people I know in my age group make do with reading glasses and don't need large print to read (though some like to use it if it's available). On the other hand, for my mother and many of her friends, large print is a necessity, not an option.

[PeterDe]

At least now I understand my frustration with BN. I wanted a Tablet that's also an e-reader, but BN is only interested in making a e-reader that also a toy.

[TnTexas]

PeterDe: At least now I understand my frustration with BN. I wanted a Tablet that's also an e-reader, but BN is only interested in making a e-reader that also a toy.

Apparently.