Borders Throws Magic Shelf at Amazon

Posted by in May 29th, 2008

To say I am a book lover is to understate an affliction. So back in 2001 when I heard that Borders was handing over its online element to Amazon, I was a bit perplexed. Sure, Amazon represents one of the largest marketplaces online. But the idea of one bookseller handing the management of its online business to another bookseller seemed odd to me.

Yesterday Borders took their online business back.

The goal, according to Borders PR, is to “mesh in-store sales with online sales”. As with most brick-‘n-mortar merchants, Borders receives a significant portion of their sales through in-store purchases. Their online store serving as more of a branding and interactive element than a place to purchase. This blueprint is especially true with book retailers because us crazy book lovers actually like to feel the weight and texture of the books. Amazon Kindles’ be damned!

Interactive whiz-bang elements are key to the “mesh” Borders is trying to create with its new site. One such element is the “Magic Shelf” a flash based virtual browsing system which mimics the look of a book shelf. If you have seen sites like Shelfari, widgets like the Visual Bookshelf in Facebook, or even used Netflix; you are not going to be blown away. The current Magic Shelf is not very robust with a poor browsing system and a not particularly inspired hover function when your cursor idles over a book cover.

Fact: what makes a book lover like me forgo the tactile sensation of browsing an actual store in order to create a virtual bookshelf is the ability to see what others have placed on their shelves. Like other collectors our desire to make lists is driven, in part, by the almost equal desire to compile those lists.

What’s missing from the Borders Magic Shelf is the community. When will merchants realize that all the slick flash elements in the world won’t bring customers back like a sense of community?

Such gimmicky toys will not win the battle against juggernauts like Amazon or Barnes & Noble with whom Borders is stepping back into the ring. Interestingly enough, Shelfari was funded by Amazon. Somebody should notify Borders’ marketing team