Bye Borders

July 18th, 2011

So Borders books, the second-largest U.S. bookstore chain is going under. It’s a little sad, but no surprise. There was a Borders books near the ball park I’d visit sometimes when I missed a train home. But the truth was, I hardly ever bought anything there. Yeah, they’re going under because of (non)-customers like me.

Over the past few years, I’ve definitely bought less books (and magazines and newspapers), and what with the advent of the Kindle and iBooks, a few years from now I may write a post declaring my intent to purchase no printed material for a whole year, getting everything in digital form.

The Internet in general is a big disruptor of retail — there’s less reason to have a retail store for any product that can be delivered digitally. First Tower Records, then Blockbuster, now Borders. Who’s next?