Redesigning the bookstore

The other day, I was at a bookshop and then walking through the shelves, I came across a book I had read a few months before and it brought back memories of what the book was about and what I was going through at the time, career wise and all. The same thing happened with a second book I recognized and then a third – each one I touched; each a unique piece of me. In a manner of speaking each book was like a (computer interface) window which when you clicked on open up this universe of sensory and cognitive experiences.

The truth is this experience was entirely personal. In a way, the bookstore created – with its shelves, cool décor, books and their arrangements – expressions, raw materials which together with the input of my past memories brought about a specific experience. In other words, the bookstore had inadvertently played a crucial role in “designing” this experience.

The design of the bookstore has stayed essentially the same for many years. Shopping for a book hasn’t changed significantly even with the advent of the internet (alright I give up, there is Amazon.com). Perhaps this is largely on account of the pristine nature of books themselves.
Should we really trust blurbs and book summaries to help the consumer make an informed choice? Most bookstores tend to be conservative in their architecture and décor. Next time you take a walk through a bookstore, notice how people interact in that environment. In all happens in their minds. There is a huge divide that consumers can be helped across, especially those who do not have experiential knowledge of the books and thus have no idea what lies behind that “window”.

Perhaps, stores should have book consultants (not attendants who shadow you asking over and over if you have found something you liked) who can relate with the client. Better use of interactive media could help. I admit that book clubs have come in handy. But if what is really purchased by the consumer is the experience, then more needs to be done to bring them home.