According to Christian Retailing's latest Vital Signs industry survey, the majority of retailers (86%) and suppliers (88%) believe the impact of digital books on the market will be "significant" or "very significant" in the next two or three years.

While a few retailers are making active plans to ride the wave of digital technology, many admit not really knowing how to go about it. A handful of Christian stores (8%) reported selling digital readers at Christmas, and about one in four (24%) said that they carried Zondervan's Symtio system e-books--gift cards that allow the recipient to download the title--during the holiday period.

Among retailers who also have a store Web site, one in three said that they sold digital books online. In comparison, 81% sold audiobooks.

One in five retailers (19%) said that they owned an e-book reader. Pricing did not seem to be the primary motivator for using e-books. Among all those who said they use them, only 13% mentioned price as their main motivation.

Instead, nearly half (48%) said their prime reason for owning an e-book reader was the "convenience of reading books," followed by the "convenience of buying books" (22%). Pricing placed third.

Read the complete Vital Signs report in the March issue of Christian Retailing magazine.