Barnes & Noble rolls out free Wi-Fi
Filed under: Extracurriculars, Technology
Wow, a marketing campaign that actually benefits the rest of us? Yes, it's true, courtesy of bookstore monolith Barnes & Noble. B&N just announced that it's offering free Wi-Fi in all its stores. The chain has offered pay-per-use hotspots in collaboration with AT&T since 2005; now, customers can access the Internet without a charge with an appropriately equipped laptop, smart phone or other wireless device.Of course, the chain's not letting you go online on its dime just to be nice; rather, it's promoting the instant-gratification factor of its e-book library, which you access by downloading. In other words, when you go to the store to buy that hot bestseller and it's sold out, Barnes & Noble wants you to download it from them on the spot rather than go to another brick-and-mortar store to purchase it.
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Freebies You Can Clip & Save
Barnes and Noble stores are offering complimentary Wi-Fi on July 28, 2009. Take advantage!
Barnes & Noble
AP
WalletPop is not responsible for caption content.
In the future, B&N plans to come out with a dedicated e-book reader to compete with Amazon.com's Kindle. In the meantime, it offers an application that can run on various laptops and smart phones. In addition, the official release from B&N mentions an opt-in service customers can sign up for that will send them things like coupons to the in-store cafes and alerts about events like author book signings when they enter the stores. Since the service is opt-in, it's not a requirement to give B&N your email address or any other info if you want to hop online -- another good aspect of the campaign.
In a way, this is just an extension of B&N's decision, once considered counterintuitive, to offer easychairs in its bookstores. Why do that, some people wondered. Customers could just come in and read a book without buying it. To be sure, there are probably many who did just that, but the company was willing to bet that the number of people who would pick up a paperback, settle into a cozy armchair to read the first chapter, get hooked and buy the book to finish at home would outweigh those willing to trek to the store to read a story in installments.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-29-2009 @ 4:22PM
Barbara said...
The library is always free.
Reply
7-29-2009 @ 5:48PM
Me said...
Absolutely, and libraries tend to have a ever growing selection of great videos and dvds.
7-29-2009 @ 5:08PM
lau2009 said...
B & N have lousy book selections and the email coupons are not worth using since most are for only 10% Off. Also, many places have free Wi-Fi with no strings attached.
Reply
7-29-2009 @ 5:55PM
Doree said...
Wow. Bitter much? With my annual membership and the monthly coupons, I often get current books as much as 40% off the list price. Yes, B&N doesn't carry EVERYTHING I want, but I use it to supplement my Amazon fix - for those things that I want to read right away. Now having free wifi, I'll be there even more than my usual once a week.
Just wish my B&N would bring back the armchairs....
7-29-2009 @ 6:25PM
kara said...
I personally feel that anything taken off at the register is worth the effort of printing out the coupon. 10% is more than the tax you would pay in my state. Also, if you buy books online from the B&N website you save additional money, purchases over $25 have free shipping and the prices are much lower than if you were to go and buy them at the store. I would recommend buying the $25 membership B&N card. Every time I go into the store I can save 10% on my coffee purchases, 10-50% off of my book purchases even after all of their mark downs.
7-29-2009 @ 7:58PM
Jay said...
They do not have a lousy book selection, most are huge with a great selection. And if something isn't in stock, not everything can be. It's easy to order the books into the store and they come in quickly. And when you sign up for a membership, the coupons get a lot better. Those are just the freebies. And as for the Wi-Fi, read the article and pay attention, there ARE no strrings attached, you can just look at the e-books and buy one if you want to. It's a convenience, not a problem.
7-29-2009 @ 5:20PM
Taylor said...
Just one more reason to love B&N. Best bookstore ever. Period.
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7-29-2009 @ 5:37PM
Lisa said...
Barnes and Noble has a great website. I buy all my books there!
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7-29-2009 @ 5:47PM
Some guy said...
1. Sorry, Charley. A mom and pop Cafe offer bigger hunks of locally made pastries for half the price. We have been using their free internet sans purchase because they know such kindness will be returned upon them from the thankful customer.
2. Used book stores use discretion on physical quality. Offer books less than half the price of B&N. And by their very nature, institute immediate recycling. - They also tend to display local art work and offering gigs to local musicians during different hours of the night and weekends bringing community together.
3. e-books tend to need an over priced electronic reading device. The screen is designed for long term visual usage. Most standard laptops and most desktops (without additional purchase) are not and can really hurt one's eyes.
4. Local companies look out for local citizens / community. Big corporations like B&N, Borders, etc, look out for number one, their corporate board and still (yes statistical fact) pay their runners, and general non store-manager staff - hardly (and usually not) a living wage.
B&N: Too little too late.
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7-29-2009 @ 6:02PM
Abbi said...
Even Denny's has free Wi-Fi. Big deal.
Reply
7-29-2009 @ 7:20PM
yyrose88 said...
ha
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7-29-2009 @ 7:28PM
BookReader said...
My husband and I love BN and spend a small fortune on books, love the atmosphere but several years ago they removed all the beautiful easy chairs and the atmosphere was just not the same. We would sit and read through several books and always spent more than we planned, purchased coffee and just a pleasant afternoon but it's just not the same atmosphere anymore and they changed the return policy to only 14 days even if it's a gift and you have to pay for their membership discount unlike other stores who give them free. We just don't spend as much there anymore it's just not the same.
Reply
7-29-2009 @ 7:52PM
JR said...
I work at a B&N, they are a GREAT place! They are SO good to their employees, and everyone I work with genuinely cares about the customers and making them as happy as possible. It's a really nice environment to come and eat lunch and browse around. No one pressures you into anything. And whether or not you sign up for the Membership (which is TOTALLY worth it), they'll e-mail you coupons. The best place to shop for books, the Wi-Fi is really just a small added perk.
Reply
7-29-2009 @ 8:54PM
jeff said...
Intersting how there are these "free things" EXCEPT in my area. I just tried to sign up for the BOGO Blizzard, but there are no stores in my area that are participating, HOWEVER, they will now still send nows and information about Dairy Queen. Boy, am I lucky
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