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It's as if B&N suddenly realized, "We're mostly selling just bits and bytes, but at a heavy markup and with tons of warm bodies and brick and mortar. The Intern

It's as if B&N suddenly realized, "We're mostly selling just bits and bytes, but at a heavy markup and with tons of warm bodies and brick and mortar. The Internet is going to eat our lunch. Holy shit!" Except the rest of us realized this years ago. That said, there are still things about a physical bookstore that the Internet doesn't "do better/cheaper". One is the pleasure of perusing the bookshelves. Second is the social factor of seeing other folks there and striking up conversations. Third is the Starbucks-like factor: every B&N I've been to seems to have a mini-coffee shop inside of it, complete with tables and snacks and power outlets. Very smart move, because we still can't download tables or coffee over the Internet, let alone for free.

frossie 16y ago
B&N have been doing a good job not only selling their e-reader, but bringing the nook readers into the store by various promotions (show your nook and get a free book, show your nook and get free coffee) and the ability to browse any e-book on your nook while physically in the store. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into the nook in-store experience. So I can see how bookstores could survive as essentially a book showroom and congregating space. Of course you don't need as much square footage for that, which would also lower costs.
code_duck 16y ago
It's true, I can flirt in person at B&N, and Amazon.com provides no such functionality! I go there for the experience of getting out of my house and walking around in the presence of actual people (I work from home). The coffee shop isn't really as inviting as Starbucks or Caribou, though, in my locality, though it is nice enough. They just stopped charging for wifi a few months ago.
- mkramlich 16y ago
  Same here, and I also often work from home or coffee shops. I live in suburban Colorado and there are 3 places nearby I can go to almost assuredly see good looking women on a daily basis, even weekdays, even the middle of the day: Target, B&N and Starbucks. (Target is the most reliable, for whatever reason.) Walmart tends to have the worst looking women, so even if I could get groceries there a few cents cheaper per item, it's just not worth the impact on my overall quality of life. One advantage to B&N over Starbucks is that at Starbucks I feel obligated to buy something as micro-rent for the table space, even if I'm not hungry/thirty. At B&N I have the excuse of browsing for books and magazines, so every trip can be free, guilt-free. Starbucks has awesome bathrooms though, and lower chance of screamers, er, I mean, kids.

frossie 16y ago

B&N have been doing a good job not only selling their e-reader, but bringing the nook readers into the store by various promotions (show your nook and get a free book, show your nook and get free coffee) and the ability to browse any e-book on your nook while physically in the store. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into the nook in-store experience. So I can see how bookstores could survive as essentially a book showroom and congregating space. Of course you don't need as much square footage for that, which would also lower costs.

code_duck 16y ago

It's true, I can flirt in person at B&N, and Amazon.com provides no such functionality! I go there for the experience of getting out of my house and walking around in the presence of actual people (I work from home). The coffee shop isn't really as inviting as Starbucks or Caribou, though, in my locality, though it is nice enough. They just stopped charging for wifi a few months ago.

mkramlich 16y ago
Same here, and I also often work from home or coffee shops. I live in suburban Colorado and there are 3 places nearby I can go to almost assuredly see good looking women on a daily basis, even weekdays, even the middle of the day: Target, B&N and Starbucks. (Target is the most reliable, for whatever reason.) Walmart tends to have the worst looking women, so even if I could get groceries there a few cents cheaper per item, it's just not worth the impact on my overall quality of life. One advantage to B&N over Starbucks is that at Starbucks I feel obligated to buy something as micro-rent for the table space, even if I'm not hungry/thirty. At B&N I have the excuse of browsing for books and magazines, so every trip can be free, guilt-free. Starbucks has awesome bathrooms though, and lower chance of screamers, er, I mean, kids.