I don't think that group is as 'niche' as it seems. People who prefer digital just go buy digital. It's harder to get nostalgic or evangelistic about digital goods, and the benefits are pretty obvious, so there's not much point in trying to convince people of it.

OTOH, physical goods do tend to elicit nostalgia and some of the benefits are definitely in the eye of the beholder. People tend to talk a lot more about preferring physical things, perhaps because they feel the need to defend their choice. There's often a lot of fear involved, like "What if they take my digital library away", etc.

Digital "ownership" is often cheaper, takes less space, and is more convenient. Occasionally something stupid happens, but in general it's pretty hard to lose your digital library.

And if you do lose it, I think most people would have no problem with using piracy to replace it. They bought it, and they deserve it.