Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • IT Management
    • Networking

    As Its Divorce from Amazon Nears, Borders Quietly Launches Its Beta

    By
    Evan Schuman
    -
    September 17, 2007
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      With Borders just seven months away from having to fly on its own without Amazon.com, the nations second-largest bookseller has quietly launched its beta site.

      When Borders announced in March that it was ending its agreement with Amazon—where Borders all but surrendered its online presence to Amazon—its executives outlined an unusually aggressive plan to turn its stores into models of merged-channel strategy.

      The plan was indeed bold, and many in the industry have pointed to it as an example of where the industry needs to move. It spoke of moving the physical store far beyond a mere bookstore and into a place that can help achieve desired experiences.

      For example, a customer wanting to plan a trip to Hawaii could go to the travel section and then to the Hawaii section. A nearby kiosk would use partner services to book flights, arrange hotel rooms and print out relevant brochures. All could be picked up at the counter, along with visitor guides. A trip to the software section could have the customer leaving with a CD of applications in addition to the instruction books.

      /zimages/5/28571.gifClick here to read more about self-checkout.

      Someone visiting the romance section might use a kiosk to access a dating service or possibly even connect with someone in that section, during a wine-and-cheese gathering for customers.

      Given that the Web has gotten so good at replicating an in-store experience in cyberspace, its critical that the actual in-store experience move beyond what is practical online. In theory, the merged channel movement should push both sides to improve much more rapidly than either would have otherwise.

      Starbucks, for example, is the envy of much of the brick-and-mortar retail world for its community-building and the social hub aspects of its stores. And yet Starbucks has been unable to recreate or leverage that sense of involvement online.

      At Borders, executives are working aggressively to recruit and contract with a wide range of partners to make the in-store launch memorable. But those negotiations are time-consuming and those non-traditional services must be layered atop traditional capabilities. Therefore, in the preliminary beta site triggered live on Sept. 6, only the most faint hints of the new strategy are evident.

      At this early stage, that means little, but merged channel aficionados who were hoping for a peek into the Borders merged channel future are going to have to wait a bit longer.

      The beta sites layout/design is intended to visually reinforce the chains roots. “The site now feels like a bookstore,” said Kevin Ertell, vice president of e-business at Borders.

      The layout/design is tight and attractive, but theres a possibility that its book-shelf appearance might serve to undermine Borders message that this is far beyond a typical bookstore effort.

      Ertell eloquently counters, stressing that the core of the chain is—and always will be—a bookstore. All of the new magic is intended to amplify and expand that experience, but if customers dont continue to buy books, the strategy wont work. Therefore, retaining the bookstore persona is not only appropriate, he argues, it is essential.

      The Borders beta launch is a true beta—unlike the strange Microsoft betas, only to be shared with 80 million of Redmonds closest friends (the worlds largest software vendor needs to read the dictionary and be reminded what a beta program is).

      This means that much of the Borders functionality—such as taking payments—does not yet function. Audio clips do, however, play in the Music section.

      Still, its somewhat unnerving that this beta of Borders online-to-come sports a video section with no video clips and no ability to read book pages (although Ertell said such capability is imminent). And no material outside services.

      But this is very preliminary and theres still time, as the Amazon partnership will be in effect until sometime in Borders first fiscal 2008 quarter, which ends April 30. Among the in-store priorities will be kiosk search stations, where customers can access their home wishlists via a password and account name. The next generation of that application will be able to use a loyalty card instead, Ertell said.

      Hopefully, the rest of the industry will copy Borders intended merged channel lead. For now, though, were still waiting to see how far Borders itself can go, given the considerable logistic and political roadblocks in launching such an effort. Whoever said merged channel is easy?

      Retail Center Editor Evan Schuman has tracked high-tech issues since 1987, has been opinionated long before that and doesnt plan to stop any time soon. He can be reached at [email protected].

      To read earlier retail technology opinion columns from Evan Schuman, please click here.

      /zimages/5/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, views and analysis on technol-ogys impact on retail.

      Avatar
      Evan Schuman
      Evan Schuman is the editor of CIOInsight.com's Retail industry center. He has covered retail technology issues since 1988 for Ziff-Davis, CMP Media, IDG, Penton, Lebhar-Friedman, VNU, BusinessWeek, Business 2.0 and United Press International, among others. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×