Literary Criticism: Review of an
Independent Book Retailer

Page 2

The books themselves, however, were poorly arranged. There were no clear categories and the mixture of display stands meant there was no way of focusing the decision on one type of book; all I could do was let the children roam, making a small choice feel much larger than necessary.

I’m a fan of being left to browse in any store, but the staff would have been well-advised to speak to us at some point. This would have helped in two ways:

A conversation asking if the children had particular interests would have enabled them to direct us to relevant sections or titles.

Fads spread through children’s playgrounds faster than Usain Bolt when he’s actually trying for the entire 100m. Finding that several children in the area are asking for Ben 10 or Astrosaurs books is a useful way of identifying what you should be ordering next.

At the till the total was on the high side, FoxBooks would almost certainly have been cheaper. And we were asked if we had a loyalty card.

Loyalty cards, from a consumer perspective are really all about frequency: if someone is buying a conservatory that they expect to last thirty years and the firm asks if they have a loyalty card they should feel worried.

On the other hand if they can get something back from choosing one supermarket over another each week loyalty cards make a lot of sense, and can actually live up to their name (i.e. they can build loyalty).

But it takes a relatively high frequency of use (and benefit) to make the card memorable. If it’s forgotten it can’t build loyalty.

Even worse, asking the customer if they have it may trigger the memory that he did, reminding him that he’s lost out on some potential gain. Just at the moment you want the customer to have their maximum excitement of acquisition associated with your store, they have disappointment and loss.

At an unconscious level this is a damaging association best avoided.

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