While some customers thirst for free lattes, others prefer to digest something a bit more substantial. This comprehension of what motivates Borders’ shoppers is driving the carefully crafted combination of coupons and content evident in the book retailer’s evolving e-commerce channel.

That presence is top-of-mind at Borders as it prepares for the full-scale launch of the site that will replace the one operated under an expiring agreement with Amazon.com.

Kevin Ertell, vice president of e-business at Borders Group, wanted a clearer understanding of how behavior differed between “coupon seekers” (shoppers who are most interested in sales and promotions) and “content seekers” (those most interested in offerings such as author interviews and book excerpts). Borders turned to ForeSee Results, a satisfaction measurement and management company based in Ann Arbor, Mich., (as is Borders) for an analysis of “Shortlist,” a weekly e-newsletter sent to a majority of Borders Rewards loyalty program members.

The analysis found that e-newsletter coupons drove more people into Borders stores. Once there, however, those who were categorized as “content seekers” ended up being 31 percent more satisfied than “coupon seekers” and were 13 percent more likely to buy something in the store.

“We could see that content seekers were far more loyal,” says Ertell.

Four out of five “Shortlist” subscribers said they visited a store because of a coupon or store promotion, but only two in five decided to do the same based on content such as an interview or a book excerpt.

Still, both groups have value and thus should be – and are – courted through the e-newsletter, Ertell says. A recent “Shortlist” offered a coupon for 25 percent off one item and another for a free 20-ounce drink. Further down was a picture of a comedian’s new autobiography: with a click, subscribers could take a “Wild & Crazy Steve Martin Quiz” or listen to an audio clip of Martin’s book.

Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee, says other retailers can take a cue from Borders when it comes to e-newsletters. Many are “just throwing everything in there not understanding the purpose and objective,” he says.

Early testing
ForeSee helped Borders measure customer satisfaction with its former site prior to the launch of the new one in order to help identify areas that needed improvement. Results showed that the search function needed work (39 percent of visitors reported having trouble finding items); navigation and non product-related content were other areas requiring improvement.

Borders had tried going it alone in the early days of e-commerce before entering into a 2001 arrangement by which Amazon.com handled Borders’ online sales. As time went on, however, it became clear that Borders needed its own site “to fulfill our cross-channel strategy to leverage the best of our online offerings with the best of what we offer in our stores to create a great overall customer experience,” says corporate affairs manager Mary C. Davis.

“The Borders.com e-commerce site is the hub of that cross-channel strategy, and thus it’s imperative that it’s ours – owned and operated.”

While online sales will obviously be key to determining the impact of the new approach, Ertell also sees considerable value in the potential of a website’s ability to offer insight into what shoppers are thinking and to serve as a marketing tool to boost bricks-and-mortar sales.

Physical stores may see a boost due to online operations: The challenge, Freed says, is determining “how do you really get credit in the organization for that?”

Essentially starting from scratch with the beta site makes the correlation easier to see – in the form of traffic-driving coupons and loyal content seekers – at the cash registers, Ertell says.

“We are in a unique position because everything we are doing right now can only be seen in the stores,” he says. “That makes our argument kind of easy at this point. [Management is] completely sold on the value of it.”

Borders has not announced an exact launch date for taking the new site beyond beta, but Ertell expects it should occur during the company’s first fiscal quarter, which begins this month. In the interim, the beta version without the buying option offers a window into the effect Borders is going for: trying to offer as much of the flavor of an actual bookstore as is possible virtually.

“We really wanted to make that site have the feel that so many online bookstores don’t have, that emotional warmth,” he says.

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