Does Borders Bankruptcy Signify the End of Physical Bookstores?
Norris also mentions Borders' mix of superstores as well as small-format Walden Books and Borders Express stores—"They really need to have one brand," he says—as well as its Borders Rewards Program.
"They never should have made Borders Rewards free. ... I've never viewed the Kindle as anything other than a very significant customer-service loyalty program, because people look at the $25 they spend on Barnes & Noble['s Membership Program] or the $79 on Amazon Prime or the $139 on the Kindle, and they think to themselves, 'I paid for this relationship, and I'm going to get as much out of it as I possibly can,'" says Norris. "Because Borders made it free, the customers did not have that hook. So they eventually realized that they were losing an opportunity and that it wasn't as strong as it could be by rolling out the [fee-based] Rewards Plus [program]."