Borders Redesign

The beta design of the new Borders website is now online and they’re asking for customer feedback to be posted here.

The site won’t go live until early next year, and marks Borders re-entry into the online retailing scene. Once upon a time, they managed their own website, but then sold it to Amazon in 2001.

According to PW some of the new features on the site include:

The Magic Shelf, essentially an area featuring books visitors can click on for more information. In an attempt to imitate the experience of walking into a Borders store, the site places the books on a realistic looking, three-dimensional shelf. Over time, as customers shop at the site, the Magic Shelf will become personalized based on past purchases. A related area, Picked for You, allows customers to list areas they are interested in and Borders will stock the area with appropriate titles.

Ummm . . . cool. I guess. Although it sounds a bit childish . . .

Sometimes it’s hard to figure Borders out. I love their stores and feel that historically, they’ve been more interested in backlist and literature than B&N, but something seems odd about this. After selling off the UK division, I wonder if reclaiming their website isn’t a way of adding value to the U.S. company for an impending sale . . . I have no evidence for this—it’s just pure speculation.