Jason Illian has posted an article on Good E-Reader about the how eBooks are fueling untraditional sales outlets. From the article:
Inside of publishing, there is tremendous concern around the declining number of physical bookstores and limited shelf space. And for good reason—authors and publishers want to sell more books. As such, they need visibility and distribution to do so. Bookstores are also communities where readers naturally congregate, discover new books, and connect around content. Without them, publishing is clanking along like a dryer full of army boots.