New Borders Stores Go Digital

As Borders’ readies its revamped online store, this week the bookseller unveiled the first of 14 new brick and mortar locations with additional digital ties. BillboardBiz reports that the new retail outlets will each have a “digital center” where consumers can download music, or look up ancestral records through “Borders Genealogy Services” via a Borders deal with Ancestry.com. Aspiring authors can also use the self-publishing service powered by site Lulu.com and let them sell their works in the store. Of course, consumers don’t need to leave their house to avail themselves of these services; but from Borders’ perspective, showcasing its new, forthcoming online services – as its website deal with Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) ends in April – might inspire consumers to give the retailer a look both in person and on the web.