Amazon Cookbook Sales as Financial Barometer

Posted by Baylen on Oct. 21, 2008

As the dismal economic climate forces Americans to eat on the cheap, Reuters points to a shift in Amazon.com consumer purchases–toward cookbooks that contain less expensive ingredients. Sort of.

“There’s also been some talk in the industry about how more people will be eating at home now to save money,” said Amazon spokeswoman Tammy Hovey. “There has been some increased interest in upcoming big fall new releases from (Food Network’s) Ina Garten and Martha Stewart, whose new books are about getting back to basics.”

Topping the Amazon “Movers and Shakers” list on Monday was “The 99 Cent Only Stores Cookbook: Gourmet Recipes at Discount Prices,” by Christiane Jory, which jumped to 162 from 187,383 in the sales rankings.

“This is an excellent book for the current economic times,” wrote Prabash B. Coswatte, from Pasadena, California, in a review of the book on Amazon. “It shows all of us how we can stretch the dollar or our 99 cents.”

Or our 98 cents. See, I can write book reviews, too.

I’m not sure one Amazon reviewer’s comments, a giant sales jump of a book that appeared on yesterday’s Rachel Ray Show and has been hyped by the New Depression-obsessed media for months as an economic barometer, or interest in a Martha Stewart book really tell me anything about a trend.

But the Reuters writer’s point–that people want to eat cheaper–is well taken, even if not well made.

Tagged: amazon.com, cooking on the cheap, economy, rachael ray Share This