ABACUS Deadline Is August 15

Data-gathering for the 2008 ABACUS Survey, which opened in February, will end on Friday, August 15. Completing the easy-to-use ABACUS Survey form takes about an hour, and in return participants receive a customized analysis of their business' financial results and a $50 rebate.

After three years of steady increases, the ABACUS study experienced a sharp decline in participation from 2006 to 2007. To help reverse the decline and to ensure the continued viability of the study, this year, at the suggestion of ABA's Booksellers Advisory Council, the association made the ABACUS form available more than a full month earlier. To date, however, there has not been a corresponding increase in the bookstore response rate. The reliability of the study's overall results and ABA's ability to provide in-depth analyses depend on greater participation by member stores.

Stores participating in ABACUS will receive a report that compares their business with other stores based on more than 20 different criteria; an executive summary of the study's key findings; key insights into the drivers of independent bookstore profitability; and year-to-year trends data.

Data from all ABACUS participants is also used in the aggregate to produce a yearly Review, available to all ABA member stores. Insight into average industry spending-per-store across multiple categories -- such as cost of goods, rent, and staffing -- provides booksellers with a better chance of making sound financial decisions.

All information provided to the ABACUS study is kept strictly confidential. Booksellers with questions about the survey can contact ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz or David Walker, ABA's industry consultant.