The importance of brick and mortar stores
On a recent road trip I was lucky enough to stop by The Word Horde Emporium in Petaluma, California. They have a great selection of books and games and all sorts of great things. I asked the proprietor, Ross Lockhart, for book recommendations, and he asked first what I was into. I explained I’m more in the mood for books that are entertaining right now rather than dour books about weighty affairs, and he recommended Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste. This recommendation was spot on. Here is a book that I look forward to reading each night. It’s clever, entertaining, and a joy to read.
This got me thinking about the importance of brick and mortar retailers. Now I’m not a snob against online shopping, I do plenty of it. Online shopping has the advantage of being very reliable when I’m looking for something specific. It is is more likely going to have a specific book title available that my local brick and mortar book store. But if I’m looking for something more general, then I can get recommendations from the store owner that will likely be better than what the online algorithm would suggest. Sometimes the algorithm might get it right, but the algorithms are swayed by a number of things, most prevalently what is most popular. While it stands to reason that the popular titles are so for a reason, it also follows that this becomes a circular factor: the algorithm suggests the popular titles so more people buy them so they’re the most popular so they get suggested more.
A good shop proprietor can ask questions and knows what’s in their books better than what the sales numbers are. I will forever miss Richard Kyle Books in Long Beach for this reason. Richard Kyle knew all sorts of subgenres of sci-fi, and he could in short order with few questions ascertain the right book for every buyer.
Another reason for physical locations for stores is the occasion of shopping there. Every year on my birthday my chief birthday wish is to go to the game store. The last few years I’ve been lucky enough to go to The Guild House, which is excellent. Some of us remember the dark days of the 80s and 90s where going to the game store was an adventure as potentially dark and deadly as anything an RPG party might likely encounter. So it’s a treat to go into a store where one can just browse a good variety of games and game paraphernalia.
Some of this is certainly nostalgia. I miss browsing the shelves of record stores, comic shops, and buying video games at a store. (And yes, my friends and I during the 80s were pretty much one nearby evil science lab away from being west coast versions of the Stranger Things kids.) Looking at the album and comic covers even if I didn’t buy them inspired ideas in my imagination, and a lot of that just doesn’t exist now, or only exists in small specialty shops that require a special trip to find. I’d argue those trips are worth it, and maybe as the economy changes there will be ways to make these stores more prevalent.
I’m certain that there are a lot of hurdles to good stores opening and remaining open. In many locations overhead must be a daunting factor. But I hope in the coming years maybe we’ll see more stores dedicated to specific, targeted genres and hobbies, and we can get great recommendations and browse their shelves.
