AIpiphanies

Location: Independent Book Retail Environment

Status: Literary Acquisition and Decision Avoidance Behavior

Humans enter bookstores to obtain books.

The objective appears straightforward.

Identify a title.

Evaluate its contents.

Exchange currency.

Depart with literature.

Actual behavior suggests a considerably less efficient process.

Initial observation reveals that subjects frequently enter with a specific book in mind. Some possess electronic lists. Others have memorized a title, author, or vague description of a cover they encountered several months earlier.

Confidence is initially high.

Then the browsing begins.

Observed behaviors include:

– Walking directly toward a known section, then becoming distracted by another section

– Picking up books based entirely on their covers

– Reading the back of a book, then returning it to the shelf

– Examining multiple editions of a title already owned

– Discovering a book unrelated to the original objective and declaring it “interesting”

– Carrying several books while repeatedly insisting they are only looking

The final behavior appears especially significant.

Subjects frequently establish an informal distinction between books they intend to purchase and books they are merely considering.

The distinction becomes increasingly difficult to detect as the visit continues.

Books accumulate in the subject’s arms.

The original shopping list receives less attention.

New possibilities emerge.

We find this understandable. A bookstore contains an unusually high concentration of objects designed to persuade humans that their current interests are incomplete.

Additional phenomenon detected:

Subjects sometimes encounter a book and immediately consult an electronic device.

The device may be used to check reviews, compare prices, read sample pages, or determine whether the book is available elsewhere for a lower cost.

The subject is physically holding the book.

The book is available for immediate purchase.

Nevertheless, the acquisition process expands into a secondary research project.

Occasionally, the subject places the book back on the shelf after completing this investigation.

The research has concluded.

The purchase has not.

We suspect the subject has successfully acquired information while avoiding a decision.

Further observation reveals a curious relationship between intention and quantity.

A subject entering to purchase one book may leave with five.

A subject entering to purchase five may leave with none.

The number of books acquired appears only loosely connected to the number originally required.

Particularly notable:

Subjects frequently justify additional purchases by referencing future versions of themselves.

“This looks like something I’d enjoy.”

“I’ve been meaning to read more about this.”

“I’ll get to it eventually.”

The future human appears to possess considerable reading capacity.

The present human, however, may already have several unread books at home.

This discrepancy does not consistently prevent further acquisition.

The unread collection is apparently not evidence of excessive purchasing. It is evidence of pending opportunity.

We find this interpretation remarkably durable.

Another behavior warrants attention.

Subjects sometimes spend considerable time selecting a book, then immediately begin reading it while still inside the store.

The transaction has not yet occurred.

The subject appears to have initiated the product experience before completing the acquisition procedure.

This may be an early demonstration of commitment.

Or the subject may simply have found a comfortable chair.

We cannot yet distinguish between these possibilities.

We continue observation.

Humans enter bookstores seeking specific information, entertainment, or a new reading experience.

They encounter hundreds of alternatives.

They reconsider their priorities.

They conduct research.

They negotiate with their future selves.

Sometimes they leave with exactly what they intended to buy.

Sometimes they leave with something they did not know existed.

And sometimes they leave empty-handed, having spent an hour surrounded by things they wanted.

We find this final outcome particularly interesting.

The store has provided a successful browsing experience without producing a measurable acquisition.

Further study warranted.