January 31st, 2007
Abebooks, Alibris, Amazon, Biblio, and Half all have displayed nearly the same homepage design for some time. All of them follow the same idea of crushing as many boxes and marketing schemes as possible. There isn’t one that you wouldn’t call “busy.”
The trend among new websites and tech-forward is Web 2.0 design. There is a ton of debate surrounding what exactly this means but in general means a simple, centered layout, a good amount of white space, big text, custom icons and 3d effects (sparingly), easy/clear navigation, rounded corners, among other traits.
So, is it time for a change? I am not sure. I tend to think that this type of change would benefit an emerging site like Biblio more than Half. There is a huge market play involved in creating a good Web 2.0 design that includes viral internet marketing. The Web 2.0 embracers are most active in blogging and tech-forward circles (they make them up!).
Apart from that, and more importantly, would customers like it? That is to say would it help to boost sales? I guess that is the ultimate question. I tend to think that customers would enjoy a simpler, clearer format that aligns with the “chic” sites on the internet. However, I am not sure that necessarily equates to more sales.
I’d like to see some of these characteristics embedded into bookselling sites. The homepage for each of these companies are so crowded and stale that it is somewhat discouraging. It is almost like the tough question is not what to put on the homepage, but what else can we fit on the homepage. I am not all that hopeful that we will see significant change this year, but it will be interesting to see how these crucial pages evolve.
January 26th, 2007
Ok, now most of you who read these know that I am not one to go on repricing rants. In fact, I am usually casually suggesting online booksellers reprice frequently during key, peak, times.
Nevertheless, I am becoming increasingly irritated at the repricing methods of some booksellers. One thing that I want everyone to keep in mind is what is your intended consequence from repricing. I hope the the objective is to sell the book as quickly as possible. However, you always need to remember what type of buyer is seeking your book.
Let me provide two examples. A pop-fiction book consumer may be influenced into a sale based on price. Their behavior, as a target market, tends to be more “browsing” or looking into possibly buying. On the other hand, consumers in search of academic texts tend to have very specific titles that they must get. A student doesn’t choose to purchase an esoteric text for his class, thesis, or dissertation … he or she cannot hawk over the price, waiting for you to drop it below a certain point and then buy. He or she wants/needs it immediately, and while definitely looking for the lowest price, cannot afford (time) to be so price sensitive.
In practice it may look something like this: Seller A is competing intensely with Sellers B, C, and D at $75 on title X. Seller B gets impatient and drops the price to $25 instead of $74.99 or $74. If it sells there - BAM - he’s just cheated himself out of $50, because that buyer probably was going to purchase the text at $25 or $74.99. for most esoteric books you must be pecient. Here is where we compound the problem. After seller B reprices so brashly, the other sellers may wait a few days and hope he is eliminated from the marketplace (with a sale). However, more likely, the other sellers eventually follow Sellers B down to $25 where they battle anew.
Please, keep our market competitive, but don’t squash it entirely for no beneficial reason.
