English: A Picture of a eBook Español: Foto de eBook Беларуская: Фотаздымак электроннай кнігі Русский: Фотография электронной книги (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Barnes & Noble's Nook Sales Down 34%

The battle of the e-Readers rages on, with a clearer picture of how the market is likely to stand in years to come. While Amazon and Apple seem to be benefitting greatly from the new market, industry giant Barnes & Noble is taking a tumble.

Nook sales themselves are down 34%, with Barnes & Noble digital sales dropping over eight percent in the same year. While the Nook has never been the most successful e-Reader, its overall losses are severe - over a million dollars more for the fiscal year than previously seen. This leaves Barnes & Noble in the precarious position of owning not only the third-place e-Reader on the market, but one that seems to be rapidly decreasing in both value and popularity.

Barnes and Noble seems to be rethinking at least some of its tablet strategy, though largely from the manufacturing end. While it plans on continuing its own development of the basic Nook e-reader line, its color tablet line is likely to focus more on partnerships with established tablet manufacturers. Coupled with talk of the Nook line being spun off into its own company, it seems that the book giant's strategy focuses more on limiting future risk than it does on any sort of innovation.

Barnes & Noble has long been lagging behind its competitors Amazon and Apple, despite a heft advertising push in 2012. The company's Nook reader, along with its full-color counterpart, have struggled to make an impact in the market. Given the relative drop in sales, the future does not look particularly bright for the product.

Barnes and Noble to Stop Making Nook, and More