Sixty Percent of Book Sales, Print & Digital, Now Occur Online

An article entitled, "Here's How Amazon Self-Destructs," published in Salon.com on July 19, 2013 pointed out that by forcing the closure of most physical bookstores in the United States Amazon had eliminated the main way that readers learn about new books--that is by visiting physical bookshops:

"According to survey research by the Codex Group, roughly 60 percent of book sales — print and digital — now occur online. But buyers first discover their books online only about 17 percent of the time. Internet booksellers specifically, including Amazon, account for just 6 percent of discoveries."