Web Design '09 Conference Session Descriptions

In spring 2007, Borders Group Inc. announced it would break way from its partnership with Amazon.com to run Borders.com. 15 months later, Borders unveiled its much-anticipated new e-commerce web site. More than two years in the making, the site replicates the store experience but with certain features available only on the web, such as the Magic Shelf, populated with books, music and movies particular to a customer's interests. The ambitious new site also uses video extensively to bring store events to web shoppers, engages store personnel by posting reviews from employees and even elevating some to Expert Reviewer, and allows shoppers to check local inventory for store pick up and to order books from the web site to be delivered to a store. In this session, Borders' vice president of e-business will share the story of how Borders.com arrived at its new design, how it gathered and implemented more than two years' worth of customer feedback for the new site, and how it designed Borders.com to differentiate itself from its former e-commerce host in one of the most competitive categories online.