Book Stores | the face of new generation shopping

Though primarily referred as Book Stores, they are a lot more than that!!.They have revolutionised the way we shop. They have brought a radical change to the shopping experience in India. Started as Book stores, they have now developed to extensive Book and Music Retail chains.

Mostly located in malls across cities, they attract nearly eighty percent of the crowd entering these malls. It has become a habit for many people to have a walk inside these stores every time they visit the malls.

I have elucidated my shopping experience in these stores. The first thing you notice after depositing your baggage is racks stacked with neatly arranged books ,CD’s and people walking with their heads pointing downwards. The entire environment inside these stores is designed carefully to create the suitable mood among the visitors.

The toy’s section is huge and caters to the demands of all kids. Whether it is a hot wheels car or video games, they have it all. No kid walks out of there without grabbing a toy.
The cute tiny girls cannot stop staring at the magnificent Barbie dolls adorned with stunning gowns and jewellery. The boys cannot part with their cool toys.

The other day, a boy was pestering his dad continuously “Should I buy the Ferrari or the McLaren model, dad?? “ .His dad who had gone mad after seeing the massive collections shouted back “Buy whatever u want, but be quick”.
I have noticed several parents who search for educational games for their kids and explain it to them, while the concentrations of the kids are immersed in the toys section.

Instead of heading to gift shops, the young Romeo and Juliet’s rush to these stores to buy greeting cards and cute gifts for their darling and dear friends. Funky key chains, wall posters, sunglasses, watches etc wow teenagers.

Working Parents search for good novels and cassettes as their kids keep playing and running around the corridors. People in their thirties and forties constitute the major buyers purchasing novels. The ladies who are home-makers spend their time looking at the cookery sets and decorative items to adorn their houses and assist their kids to buy stationary items for their schools.

It’s funny!! Whenever I pass by the Business and Management Books Section, I observe geeky persons and employees dressed in formals surfing these books to improve their skills to stay alive in the competitive market.
Peculiarly one day, I noticed a bunch of guys wearing formals and ties and busy browsing these books...looked like they directly stormed the stores after their meetings!!

There isn’t a better place for retired couples to hang around than these stores. Gone are the days of going to the beach or the temples, nowadays they prefer spending their time in these stores searching for devotional songs, classical movies and religious books.
Once I overheard a conversation between an old man and his wife. His wife asked him” Can we come here more often?? ”

The only empty counters in these busy stores are the Perfume Sections. Even though their lovely scent can attract people, their prices keep the customers away. It is the only the deodorants which finds a few buyers.

Some stores like Crossword and Odyssey have opened mini coffee shops inside, which ideally creates the mood to buy books for few customers.

The previous time i visited the mall, I wanted to have some coffee. My friend took me to one of these mini-shops inside Odyssey. These outlets do not attract much crowd and they surrounded with magazines and interesting books, which make them an ideal place to have a drink. So next time, consider having your coffee at one of these stores.

Chocolates, particularly the imported ones have found places in a few racks , these days. Most of them are sealed in boxes. A child innocently asked his mom to buy the collection of books with chocolate pictures over them...but they were actually a tin of chocolates.

Amazingly, these stores have a very good collection of jewellery with decent price tags. Earrings’, Rings, Bracelets, Pendants and Necklaces are all available in variety of designs and patterns. These items outshine the sales of wallets and hand bags.

Earlier, the Electronics section consisted mostly of earphones, play stations and MP3 players. But now, they have extended to mobiles, cameras, home theatres, tablets and more. You can frequently notice que’s formed by kids, who wait for their turn to play a demo of the play station games. Sure enough, these stores know to lure the kids very well.

Once I noticed a lady buying a watch. Next she went and brought herself a bracelet. Next she turned to a beautiful necklace. Unlike other stores, they house different categories of jewellery and ladies will sure enjoy asking their beaus to purchase all of them.

Stationeries -omg!!The quantity and varieties of stationeries available is staggering. Their collections range from pencils to Mont Blanc Pens. Astoundingly, they house all the drawing equipment's which are very rare to find outside.

Concluding, these stores have added a new image to the shopping experience the malls have to offer. Personally, these stores hypnotize me and I always look forward to shop there.