Comixology Kills the Impulse Buy
Just barely one month after Amazon acquired Comixology, Jeff Bezos and team managed to screw the pooch. From Co-founder and CEO David Steinberger on the initial sale to Amazon:
ComiXology will retain its identity as an Amazon subsidiary and we’re not anywhere near done “taking comics further.” We are confident that – with Amazon by our side, who shares our desire for innovation and a relentless focus on customers – we’ve only just begun.
Flat out, he lied or didn't know what was coming. Taken from past buy outs, this isn't something new to Jeff Bezos and company.
Comicbook author and creator Gerry Conway posted a great article on comicbook.com on his views of the latest development.
You don’t make quick entertainment hard to access. You may it simple and easy — an impulse buy.
Comixology’s in-App storefront did that. It provided quick and easy access to comics from the majors to the indies, one-stop shopping at the point of sale, at the moment where the customer is most vulnerable to the casual pitch: while he or she is actually reading a comic, and is in the comic-reading frame of mind, and is mildly (or intensely) interested in another nibble of brain-candy.
I wholeheartedly agree that this change voids my impulse buys. This app was the medium that lead me to discover great comics and various new indies. Browsing a store front without the hassle of leaving the app, going onto the web, buying, then going back to the app, clicking on a "Cloud" tab then downloading it, was the way to go.
Impulse is still the best way to find the latest and greatest or even those that might pique your interest. Now, I'm heading back out to my local comic shop. It's not that I'm going to boycott Comixology, but who am I kidding… delete.