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Where is everybody?
October 12, 2008 | 4:18 pm
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By Joe Wikert
I stopped by the local Borders concept store last night and was delighted to see quite a few customers on the scene. Earlier in the year I was concerned about traffic levels but that’s before several of the other stores in the new mall opened around it. Last night featured plenty of reading, browsing and buying activity throughout the store…except for one key section….
The tech kiosk area, where you can download MP3′s, research your family tree and test drive Sony’s eReader was a dead zone. Nobody was there. No employees and not a single customer other than myself. I probably wandered around in there for 10-15 minutes and never saw a soul.
I believe this means two things. First, if this store is any example, people go to bookstores for books, not technology. That’s got to be a disappointing reality for Borders but I also think there may be a way to address the problem, which leads to my second point.
“If you build it, they will come” only works in the movies. If they really want to succeed Borders needs to do something beyond just making all this technology available in the store. Where are the in-store events (e.g., come let us help you research your family name, come see the latest e-book technologies, etc.)? How about signage in other areas of the store that promotes the tech kiosk area? I didn’t see evidence of either last night and I can’t see how they’ll build any buzz for this without events/promos.
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Comments:
I agree that the Borders you mention needs to do something to promote their tech area. Probably the managers just aren’t sure what to do. Your ideas, especially the simple placement of signs throughout the store, would be a good start. Judging from the picture in your post, customers could easily dismiss the area as an employee work area that they should not touch.
I happen to know that many people would love to get a hands-on look at a Sony ebook reader (or any ebook dedicated device). A couple weeks ago I posted a review of my Sony 505 on YouTube and I’ve already gotten over 300 views. And the comments people leave and generally thankful for letting them have a look at it because they can’t physically see it anywhere.
A collegue of mine was in the States an couple of weeks ago. He wanted to buy a Sony PRS-505 (it is still not available in The Netherlands). He visited the local Borders store. It took a while before they could show the 505 because the key to the cabinet where is was on display, was missing. According to the salesperson, nobody ever asked about eBookreaders.
If you are in the US, in addition to Borders Stores, the Sony 505 is available at Target Stores. I saw one on an endcap display there. Curiously the actual machine that was for sale was just hanging on a hook. I was surprised that such a small expensive item (even including the box) would just be out there for anyone to take, but that was how it was displayed for sale. The demo model was well secured but you could access all the keys, change pages and get a feel for the buttons and general look and feel of the device. i thought it was very helpful. However, I stood there for a few minutes and ended up answering a lot of questions from other prospective purchasers because no sales staff were around and the display was not near the sales check out. Not a very good marketing/promotion plan.
Hey, at least your Borders has a tech section. The one I frequent has a pathetic, lonely Sony Reader kiosk:
http://mikecane2008.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/sony-reader-revolution-fail/
But there will be action happening on that front soon.
As for Target:
http://mikecane2008.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/sony-reader-at-brooklyn-ny-target-store/
Hm, two URLs in one post. Into the Akismet spam box this will go, until someone bothers to look.