I used to be quite the B&N hanger outer. We'd make an evening of it. Come here, pick up a couple of books and magazines, find a comfortable seat, read for an hour or three, then leave. Sometimes, we'd buy a coffee. Rarely did we buy a book. And I have to wonder how B&N stays in business. Do this many people buy books at full retail price to keep the lights on?
Yes, there is a membership club and if you're planning on buying $200 of books in a year, you'll start to break even at that point. And I think it gets you free refills on the drip coffee.
Clean, organized, prices marked, shelves stocked, associates willing to help if you can find them. But the prices? Wow.