c. 2000 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) More than one-third of Bible shoppers enter stores intent on buying the holy book and leave confused and empty-handed, a new survey shows.

Almost 40 percent of shoppers for Bibles walk away from stores without one, recent research by Zondervan Publishing House has found. Most either cannot make up their minds or do not find what they are looking for. And 46 percent of Bible shoppers leave without ever speaking to a salesperson.

In response, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based publishing company is developing a “store within a store” to meet the needs of customers searching for the right Bible among the plethora of choices.

Zondervan alone publishes at least 300 different types of Bibles, including holy books for youth and leaders, in study and devotional volumes and in paperback and leather, said Tom Mockabee, executive vice president and publisher of Zondervan’s Bible Group.

Learning about the percentage of Bible shoppers leaving empty-handed and the more than 50 percent of Bible shoppers who say they visit store Bible departments at least once a month, Mockabee said his company realized it was not properly meeting consumer needs.

At the CBA International Convention, a gathering of Christian retailers July 8-13 in New Orleans, Zondervan will unveil what it believes is the answer: an in-store “Bible Shop.” Customers visiting the area within some stores’ Bible departments will be invited to tear off the shrink-wrap around the Bibles and sit on chairs or at tables to flip through prospective purchases.

“We’re saying it’s OK to touch it, pick it up,” said Mockabee.

Mark Rice, marketing director of Zondervan’s Bible Group, said he hopes the new Bible departments will create the same kind of ambiance for which some secular bookstores have become known. The new areas will include counters with open Bibles.

“We’re trying with Bible Shop to take away not only the confusion, but we’re really trying to get them to interact … with the product,” he said of customers.

In the past, many Bibles were sold behind the counter and on shelves in shrink-wrapped packages when retailing had less of a self-service emphasis.

The “Bible Shop” will cover about 340 square feet and is designed for a store of 10,000 to 15,000 square feet. The project is being tested in four stores and is expected to be placed in 20 more stores in the next year.

In addition to aiding customers, Zondervan also is offering a new free CD-ROM to train employees at Christian and secular bookstores.

“Selling Bibles can be intimidating,” said Mockabee. “There’s many translations and many features to the Bible.”

The CD-ROMs, offered at three different levels, range from basic information about Bibles to advanced terminology about translations to details about the various kinds of bindings used for the Bibles.

Mockabee said the CD-ROMs, developed in conjunction with Family Christian Stores, include information about Zondervan Bibles as well as those of the publisher’s competitors.

Rice said the survey involved interviews with 800 shoppers at Christian bookstore Bible departments and 1,500 phone interviews of Bible shoppers at secular stores like Barnes and Noble, warehouse clubs like Sam’s Club and mass merchandisers like Wal-Mart.

The study revealed other aspects of shopping habits of those in search of Bibles. For example:

_ 77 percent of Bible shoppers intend to make a purchase when they arrive at the store.

_ 53 percent of those planning to purchase a Bible know which one they want.

_ 80 percent of Bible shoppers at stores like Kmart and Target are female.

_ When asked what one thing they would change if they could about Bible departments, Rice said 17 percent said “open Bible samples.”

Zondervan officials said while the survey showed “road blocks” for customers, they learned people are still interested in buying Bibles.

“They aren’t telling us they don’t want more Bibles,” Rice said. “In fact, they’re telling us just the opposite. The research is showing they want more Bibles.”’

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