The Brief

What happens when a business needs to pivot? This is a fundamental change in business strategy — a product innovation that goes beyond “better sameness” — based on better understanding of customer needs or market information. This is what we sought to define for Barnes & Noble.

The Process

Our team of three developed a pivot plan by focusing on how B&N could alter an existing offering, rather than designing an entirely new business model. To determine whether this refocused product vision would be supported or invalidated (and whether there was a market large enough to warrant a significant investment), we conducted extensive ethnographic and market research. Financial projections were then developed to isolate and examine key assumptions and mitigate risk.

The Proposal

Physical retail stores are a double-edged sword for the B&N brand. The nostalgia and tactile experience may bring people in, but the sterile and lackluster environment doesn’t make them want to stay. We want to transform store encounters from lifeless inventory browsing to immersive, communal experiences.

In order to strategically transition from a book-as-commodity to book-as-experience platform, we envision a tiered approach to radically evolving the B&N store, bringing the wonder and imagination of literature to life.

Our tiered roll-out plan starts with the implementation of an on-demand book printing machine, our minimum viable product (MVP). Imagine pulling from a digital catalog of content and making a paperback book in minutes. Consumers gain unlimited access to a variety of books available on-demand and retailers are able to upgrade their digital strategy and sell more titles without adding inventory.

We believe this kind of technology — reimagined for the future, with an extensive database of titles and an intuitive interface — could alter B&N’s business and product strategies. By making the transition to the “POD Machine,” retail space could be reallocated to make way for community gathering in the mid-term and immersive, augmented reality experiences in the long-term.