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Elfwreck · 11-05-2009, 02:35 PM

The internet shopping phenomenon has almost eliminated our ability to browse.

I can look at Amazon and see "books like this one" and "books other people who bought this one, also bought" and "booklists of recommendations including this one," but I can't see "books by authors with last names starting with the same letter as this on, in the same rough category." There isn't any "show me this book on a shelf as it would be in a store."

There are also problems with checking quality... I can see a nice pair of shoes online, and maybe even assume the sizing is correct, but I can't tell if the heel is at an angle that annoys me. Can't tell if the fancy stitching scrapes against my thumb when I buckle the straps. In the case of books, I can't tell if it's printed on cheap paper, or if the binding feels like it's about to split open. Can't tell how heavy the cover is, if that matters to me.

And, of course, when I buy a book from Amazon, the checkout line doesn't have a nice bin of highlighters and bookmarks to choose from.

I think it'll take a while for brick-and-mortar stores to figure out what they can offer that online shopping areas can't.

11-05-2009, 02:35 PM	#3
Elfwreck Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,187 Karma: 25133758 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)	The internet shopping phenomenon has almost eliminated our ability to browse. I can look at Amazon and see "books like this one" and "books other people who bought this one, also bought" and "booklists of recommendations including this one," but I can't see "books by authors with last names starting with the same letter as this on, in the same rough category." There isn't any "show me this book on a shelf as it would be in a store." There are also problems with checking quality... I can see a nice pair of shoes online, and maybe even assume the sizing is correct, but I can't tell if the heel is at an angle that annoys me. Can't tell if the fancy stitching scrapes against my thumb when I buckle the straps. In the case of books, I can't tell if it's printed on cheap paper, or if the binding feels like it's about to split open. Can't tell how heavy the cover is, if that matters to me. And, of course, when I buy a book from Amazon, the checkout line doesn't have a nice bin of highlighters and bookmarks to choose from. I think it'll take a while for brick-and-mortar stores to figure out what they can offer that online shopping areas can't.