If you say you’re open on Sundays, be open on Sundays. Most businesses change with time. This means that you’re going to need to have some time and manpower dedicated to auditing your website at least once a quarter. And make sure your in store prices are the same or better than your online prices. If not, prepare for the Barnes & Noble Effect.

The Barnes & Noble Effect

Ugh. How can one company get it so wrong. In case you haven’t noticed, B&N has some serious competition from an online gargantuan called Amazon.com. Has B&N noticed? Let’s check.

I want the 2017 World Almanac (because I am awesomely nerdy that way). Amazon has it for $9.17. But I work across the street from a B&N, I like the feel of the place, so I go to the Barnes and noble website to see how much they charge for it: $10.00. A bit more than big A, but i’ll pay a bit extra for that “book store feel”, so I trek out to the mega-B&N in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

I peruse the shelves and enjoy thumbing through some new arrivals and contemplate buying more now that I’m here. I ask a bookseller to point out the Almanac and we he does, I noticed it’s marked $14.99, 33% more than their website. I ask the bookseller and he says, “yeah sometimes the books are cheaper on our website, but if you pay to join our book club you can save as much as 40%!”

Seriously?! You want me to pay you for the privilege of not shopping on your website or on Amazon without the hassle? Ugh. Good luck Barnes and Noble. I’m going to miss walking through mega bookstores. They were fun.

For the rest of us, make sure your business reflects your website and vice versa.