Gift Cards and ABACUS Features of ABA's UMBA Programming This Weekend

ABA staff will be at this weekend's Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA) Trade Show at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minneapolis, to present the results of 2003 ABACUS study and to provide demonstrations of the new electronic gift card program.

On Friday, October 10, at 2:00 p.m., ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz will explain the results of the 2003 ABACUS study and its value to booksellers. The ABACUS study contains rich data that shows the financial performance of almost 200 participating stores, as well as "data slices" grouped by profitability levels, sales levels, and area of the country.

At 3:00 p.m. on Friday, ABA staff and Nielsen BookScan representatives will hold a special double session, complete with live demonstrations, covering many of the important technological needs of booksellers. Features of ABA's new Book Sense Gift Card Program will be explained by ABA Marketing Director Jill Perlstein, and ABA's information technology director, Jeff Wexler, will present an overview of basic computer techniques; ABA's Electronic Book Buyer's Handbook; online discussion forums; BookSense.com; and methods of reporting to the Book Sense Bestseller List.

Booksellers can participate in a hands-on demonstration of the new electronic Book Sense Gift Card program at the ABA/Book Sense booth on the trade show floor on Saturday and Sunday. Booksellers who attend a demonstration at the booth will automatically be entered into a raffle to win a free $50 gift card training session or a color inkjet printer. For a second chance at winning, booksellers should bring a recent photo of a Book Sense 76 display (with store name, address, phone number, and contact name printed on the back).