Barnes & Noble NOOK To Go On Sale At Walmart

Barnes & Noble is planning an event in New York City shortly, and many are expecting a revised NOOK to be the highlight of the show. And if true, what better time than now to strike a deal with Walmart? The NOOK has been sold in a variety of places since being introduced last year, but Walmart wasn't one of them. Amazon's Kindle has slowly rolled out to various retailers as well, leaving B&N in a position of finding more retail outlets to stock it. The NOOK and Kindle are battling for e-reader supremacy right now, and with holiday shopping dollars on the line, it's vital to get your product in front of eyes at Walmart.


This week, Barnes & Noble reached an agreement with Walmart to sell the NOOK in 2,500 of Walmart's stores as well as online through walmart.com. NOOKs will begin arriving in Walmart stores as early as Oct. 24th, leaving us to wonder if the NOOK 2 will be joining it. The announcement mentions that Walmart will stock both the NOOK 3G, which offers free AT&T 3G wireless and Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as NOOK Wi-Fi, a Wi-Fi only model.

Time will tell, for sure, but Amazon might have a tough time topping this one. Unless Walmart feels like stocking it as well.

 Barnes & Noble Announces Award-Winning NOOK™ eBook Reader Will Be Sold at Walmart

NOOK Devices to Be Sold in Walmart Stores and on Walmart.com Beginning Next Week

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, today announced its award-winning NOOK eBook Reader will be sold in 2,500 Walmart stores (NYSE: WMT) and online at www.walmart.com. The popular NOOK devices are expected to arrive on Walmart shelves beginning as soon as October 24, in advance of the holiday shopping season.

    “Sales of NOOK devices continue to exceed our expectations, and we are thrilled to be able to partner with Walmart, one of the world’s greatest retailers, to expand the distribution of our award-winning NOOK eBook Reader”

The NOOK eBook Readers will be prominently featured as the premier eBook Reader in the consumer electronics area. Many Walmart stores will feature a NOOK-branded eReading area where shoppers can see and touch a demonstration device.

Walmart will offer both great choice and value with two NOOK by Barnes & Noble eBook Reader models -- NOOK 3G, which offers free AT&T 3G wireless and Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as NOOK Wi-Fi, a Wi-Fi only model. Both offer a crisp, paper-like E Ink display for reading and a beautiful color touch screen for navigation, and access to shop the Barnes & Noble expansive eBookstore with more than one million eBooks, magazines and newspapers, most available for $9.99 or less and more than half a million free titles. Digital content from Barnes & Noble is downloaded wirelessly in seconds. NOOK devices are also the only to offer sharing of eBooks with friends through Barnes & Noble’s breakthrough LendMe™ technology.

“Sales of NOOK devices continue to exceed our expectations, and we are thrilled to be able to partner with Walmart, one of the world’s greatest retailers, to expand the distribution of our award-winning NOOK eBook Reader,” said Chris Peifer, Vice President, Digital Business Development at Barnes & Noble. “Walmart’s millions of shoppers will have an easy and convenient way to try NOOK devices in many stores and to learn why NOOK is the most full-featured eReading device on the market, and the perfect gift solution for anyone who loves to read.”