Samenvatting

This thesis explores the realm of books and bookstores; namely Waterstones
Amsterdam in its quest to enhance their in-store customer experience. My client is Phillip
Harte, Waterstones Amsterdam’s Branch Manager. This essay resorts to a key methodology,
Design-Based Research, “which aims at designing, developing and implementing a product
through systematic but flexible iterative analysis and processes” (Jayatilleke et al., 2018).

There is a strong indication that the Golden Pages would enable Waterstones to act as
a restorative and immersive experience to their target audience: it alleviates shoppers’ choice
paralysis, enabling peace of mind and offers them references that do not result from social
media trends, immersing them into realms of unexpected discoveries.