Barnes and Nobel Bookstore as an Electronic Business

According to their website, Barnes and Nobel is the nation’s largest bookseller. They have approximately 800 stores in 49 states. (Index paragraph. 1) The first “on ground” Barnes and Nobel bookstore was opened in 1917. In 1971 the founders, William Barnes and G. Clifford Nobel, were floundering. They sold their bookstore to Leonard Riggio. Riggio revolutionized the way booksellers do business. Barnes and Nobel was the first bookseller to discount books and to advertise on television. They introduced public seating, children’s areas, restrooms, and other in store venues. Soon they were hosting community events author readings and signings and performances. (History paragraph. 1)

When the World Wide Web became commonplace, Barnes and Nobel showed, once again, that they could anticipate their customer’s needs and desires. In May of 1997 Barnes and Nobel opened their website “barnesandnobel.com.”(History paragraph. 1) This idea has many advantages. The company is now able to offer its customers the opportunity to browse through literally millions of books. The company benefits because they don’t have to spend the money to house all of those books. Another benefit is money saved in staffing costs. Barnes and Nobel don’t have to hire, train or pay people to run more bookstores. The company is also able to reach more customers. From a business standpoint, it is not feasible to put an on ground bookstore in every small town in the world. With the internet almost everyone could now become a customer. Online customers are not longer limited to purchasing a book during business hours. Any time, day or night, an order can be placed. Another advantage is client tracking. Because a person has to use a credit or debit card to order, a database may be set up for marketing purposes. Customers could be notified when a book by a previously purchased author goes on sale. This could increase revenue.

Doing business on the internet does have disadvantages and limitations. If Barnes and Nobel have problems with their website, even just for an afternoon, they could loose out on thousands of sales. Many more than if they had one of their stores closed for the afternoon. There is the limitation that some customers prefer to actually hold an item in their hands before purchasing. Also, people without a credit or debit card may not be able to order. The cost of shipping is another thing to be considered. Barnes and Nobel charge