On the Frustrations of e-Book Shopping

I watched this podcast that Dr. Grossblatt posted, and I completely resonate with the frustrations faced, and I recently had a discussion with the publisher of one of my journals, Soil Science, and the editor-in-chief, about the advancements, including e-reader access to the journal articles.

With the short attention span that most humans have (e.g., me) and in the way everything these days needs to be fast, immediate, and most important, intuitive, e-book shopping should be just as easy as shopping for clothes: We're familiar with the shopping cart icon, our eyes magnetize to the keywords "checkout" and "view my cart" and the like, and so, as a consumer, the inability to be able to find a link to checkout or to purchase an item may result in loss of business. A user should be able to find what he or she is looking for (especially if the site claims to have it) and not look elsewhere. Having to go to the iTunes store, as in the clip, is the result of a failure on the Yale University Press Web site gurus.

Keeping the Consumer on the Web Site
One of the strategies that companies have used is when linking sites, always code the link so that it opens into a new browser window rather than the present browser window, so that the consumer (purchaser) does not have to find alternate means for getting what he or she wants (even inadvertently). It should be a one-stop shop.

Enabling Easy Access to Content
The Web site in the video clip was on the right track by showing both the ability to acquire an e-copy of the otherwise unavailable book and the price. The comment on the e-price being just as expensive as the hard copy may suggest that the hard copy has more value (even though you'd get the copy in the mail in at the very least 1 day versus immediately electronically). What does that say about what we value more--speed, price, tangibility of a book in one's hands.

With Soil Science, we've recently started e-copies for electronic readers (http://journals.lww.com/soilsci/pages/default.aspx). I think it's set up well, but the icon for e-reader, for example, could probably be made bigger and more readily seen. E-copies are extremely important for us, and the target link of "NEW! Articles on your e-reader" is informative and prevents frustrations for making a purchase. There's even a cute little video that shows you what's up, how to get it, and what's compatible. It's interactive and dynamic and leaves the listener with a link. See the video here: http://journals.lww.com/soilsci/_layouts/1033/oaks.journals/whatsnew.aspx

Increasing the Speed of Acquiring Deliverables
Take, for example, how Amazon now has a PassPhrase for easy checkout with a preselected method of payment, shipping location, etc. Also, many sites have teamed up with PayPal so you don't have to create a new log-in and such. Those who are familiar with bugmenot.com know it is a good (albeit often unreliable) source for already-created log-ins, which are useful for sites that require user IDs/passwords before proceeding. I'm convinced that the faster the process, the more likely for return customers.