How do we choose fiction books? What factors influence our choices the most when buying one? Are these factors the same when we buy a fiction book for ourselves or as a gift for someone else? Previously, we talked about a feature that can make a fiction book especially appealing to readers—the "narrative reversal." This is a storytelling method where the expected outcome of a story is completely turned around. Narrative reversal is a textual feature. However, there are factors beyond the text itself, called paratextual factors, that can also influence our decision to buy a fiction book. So, what are these paratextual factors? A study by Leitãoet al. (2018) looked into this question. They explored what drives readers’ behavior when choosing fiction books and investigated whether these factors change depending on whether the book is for personal use or being purchased as a gift.
Study overview
The researchers surveyed 487 participants to understand their behavior when buying fiction books. Participants answered a questionnaire about 24 book features, such as the book title, recommendations from family and friends, well-known authors, and advertisements at the point of sale. They rated the importance of each feature on a 7-point scale, where 7 meant "most important" and 1 meant "least important," for both personal purchases and buying books as gifts. The survey also included questions about impulsive buying habits and socio-demographic details. It was conducted both online through a web-based tool and in person at bookstores in three cities.
Findings
The study identified several factors that influence readers' decisions when buying fiction books. Most of these factors were consistent whether the book was for personal use or as a gift. Key common factors included: 1) Book subject, 2) Recommendations from family and friends, 3) Discounts or sales, 4) Synopsis.
Other shared factors were grouped into four broad categories with sub-factors:
- Public exposure and in-store display (e.g., staff recommendations,
social media mentions, bestseller displays).
- Author and book recognition (e.g., Nobel Prize-winning or
award-winning authors).
- Author information on the cover (e.g., author biography).
- Title and cover art (e.g., cover images)
However, two significant differences were observed when comparing purchases for oneself versus as a gift: those buying fiction books for personal use relied more on "Recommendations from family and friends," while those buying books as gifts placed greater importance on "Author and book recognition." This reflects the tendency of gift-givers to be more cautious and avoid risks.
Among the various book-related attributes, younger readers placed more value on "Title and Cover Art" and "Books with Discounts/On Sale," while frequent readers and buyers cared less about cover art and prioritized "Author Information on the Cover."
In terms of gender, women valued all attributes more than men when purchasing gifts.
Regarding impulsivity, people were more likely to buy books on impulse when shopping for themselves rather than as gifts. Women showed higher impulsivity when buying for personal use, but there were no significant gender differences in impulsive gift purchases. It seems people exercise more self-control when buying fiction books as gifts compared to when buying for themselves.
Overall, the study revealed that women and highly educated individuals read and buy more fiction books than men and less educated individuals. Older participants also purchased more books compared to younger ones.
Our Previous Post on Narrative reversal.
https://homofictusbulletin.blogspot.com/2024/08/narrative-reversal.html
For detailed information, please refer to the original article.
Leitão, L., Amaro, S., Henriques,
C., & Fonseca, P. (2018). Do consumers judge a book by its cover? A study
of the factors that influence the purchasing of books. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 42, 88-97. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.01.015
Picture Credit.
Bookstore by John Farnsworth
