> when you go into a brick & mortar store to buy a digital object people get confused
For some part of the market I think this was actually a strength, though perhaps not a big enough strength, or not exploited well enough. We got my uncle (American, aged mid-80s) a Nook for Christmas 2012, in large part because we knew he could go to his local B&N to buy books and have them loaded onto it. That's worked pretty well: he basically buys books like he used to, except now they are more portable and he can zoom in to compensate for his poor eyesight, which is easier than reading paper books with a magnifying glass. With the Kindle we weren't sure whether he'd enjoy having to figure out how to shop online at Amazon. He rarely uses computers, and even more rarely uses the internet, so probably wouldn't buy books from a desktop connection. So he'd have to buy them online from within the Kindle itself with no local customer support available, which even to me seems like a confusing interface (it's not quite as bad as trying to navigate Google Play on a smartphone, but it's not great).
Confusion is an opportunity to provide education and build consumer trust. If you're breaking intended behavior you need to pacify the confusion that results (this is a social capital creation opportunity).
I do appreciate your point though and I think it's just another example of B&N having poor marketing.
For some part of the market I think this was actually a strength, though perhaps not a big enough strength, or not exploited well enough. We got my uncle (American, aged mid-80s) a Nook for Christmas 2012, in large part because we knew he could go to his local B&N to buy books and have them loaded onto it. That's worked pretty well: he basically buys books like he used to, except now they are more portable and he can zoom in to compensate for his poor eyesight, which is easier than reading paper books with a magnifying glass. With the Kindle we weren't sure whether he'd enjoy having to figure out how to shop online at Amazon. He rarely uses computers, and even more rarely uses the internet, so probably wouldn't buy books from a desktop connection. So he'd have to buy them online from within the Kindle itself with no local customer support available, which even to me seems like a confusing interface (it's not quite as bad as trying to navigate Google Play on a smartphone, but it's not great).