By Paula Rosenblum, Managing Partner
February 16, 2010
Sometimes a seemingly obvious decision results in real unintended consequences. A retailer may decide to expand into a new category of merchandise, and the sales might actually roll in, but unless serious time and effort is put into understanding the consumer’s expectations around that new category of product, that retailer might end up with some seriously irritated customers.
My example this week is Barnes and Noble – and the launch (and re-launch) of its eBook reader, the Nook. On the surface, the logic of selling it is impeccable. The company recognized it’s not in the business of selling books; it’s in the business of selling authored content. Rather than continue to lose share to Amazon’s Kindle, it launched its own reader, and offered some excellent perks to go with. BUT… what B&N missed is that in the course of selling its authored content, by selling the Nook, the company also became a consumer electronics retailer. And customer expectations for electronics retailers are rather different than for those selling books.
I recently ordered and bought a Nook. I actually bought it the day of the iPad launch. As much as I wanted a single multi-purpose very lightweight computer, the iPad wasn’t that, and I didn’t want to pay a premium for a color touch screen. For a variety of reasons, I didn’t want a Kindle and the Nooks are back in stock, so I took the plunge and placed my order online.
I made my decision based on product reviews and feature / function. Probably most customers would do the same. The Nook had been out of stock for a long time, but it was coming available, and I was ready to buy. The web site was clear on when the Nook would be shipped, and in fact, it arrived a day or two early, just in time for me to leave on a short vacation. I set up the device, downloaded my first eBook (yay!) and began to read.
Then things got a little strange. The features and functions were as promised, but I realized I’d neglected to buy a couple of necessary accoutrements. That screen really needed to be covered by something: I needed a case / cover. The power supply/cable needed a storage bag of some sort. Undaunted, I looked online, found a couple of appropriate accessories and headed off to the nearest B&N store to pick them up. It didn’t even remotely occur to me to check for in-store availability. I mean, how hard could it be for a store to carry some variety of inexpensive protectors? My friend and I arrived at the store and began trying to find the “Nook accessories” department. All I could really find at the information desk was an announcement that the Nook is available online. I waited for the line of people at the desk to clear and asked where those accessories were located. Answer? “Not in any store. They’re only available online for now.” What??? I tried finding the accessories at Radio Shack or another electronics store. Nope. It’s too young a product for generic accessories.
I just now went back to the B&N web site, and took another look. The accessories appear to be available in store until you enter your zip code to find a store in which buy one. Every single store is out of stock. You’re invited to try another zip code. At no point do you get the very succinct message “Not yet available in stores.”
So what went wrong?
· I wasn’t invited to buy the appropriate accessories when I purchased the Nook. Otherwise, I probably would have done so
· The web site was (and IS) completely unclear about in-store availability of the add-on products I want
In other words, the web site is designed to sell BOOKS. A book is a discrete unit. No other accoutrements needed. You buy your eye glasses separately. But a Nook is a collection of stuff. Cross-sells are not just a nice-to-have, they’re borderline necessities. Opportunity missed. BIG TIME. You can be sure the gross margin on those accessories is higher than on the Nook. Oops. And as I’m winging my way off to St Croix, I’m frustrated and concerned I’ll damage the thing. Not a happy cross-channel customer.
Even in the height of Wii madness, you could always buy accessories, and even games, in store. Need a controller? No problem. And when you actually COULD get the Wii console, you were often offered bundles that included some games and an additional Nunchuk.
What’s the lesson learned? As always, it’s the lesson of unintended consequences. Expectations for different types of merchandise are...different. A two-day turnaround on the reader is fine. A two-day turnaround on accessories is not fine. The web site should have been tweaked. Bundles should have been offered. The message should have been clear. The cross-channel shopper has expectations and they really have to be met. Mine weren’t. I’m carrying my Nook in a Netbook case for now. If it gets wet, or scratched or damaged, I’ll be asking for a replacement. I hope I don’t have to go there.
Postscript: I happily read my Nook on the plane ride to St Croix. I tried to turn it on the morning after I arrived, only to discover it was dead. When I return home I’ll be asking B&N to ship me a replacement. I’m dearly hoping that I don’t have to write a followup, but if I do, I’ve already figured out a catchy title: “Chapter 2: Books Don’t Break”.
