but as far as the need to commercialize it–does *everything* need to be about selling me something?! i would imagine that most bikers already have their preferred bike stores, and to display an rei location on the map would just be a visual nuisance.

while, this app won’t make me bike straight to an rei and buy something, i now have a very positive experience with rei, which i’ll relay to family and friends. i’ll have a positive association with them when i see their ads or name in the public. building a better brand isn’t just about selling more stuff.

do something nice for the sake of being nice, not to make a direct profit. people–particularly the kind who are commuting and biking–can smell consumerism a mile away.

REI could simply ask the app users what features they want to see in future versions. If enough people want it, then add it.

Of course something like I would have OFF be default and the user would have to go into some settings screen to turn it on.

Indeed, adding commercial features to the application like a GPS store locator would probably add some small incremental revenue. Compare that, however, to the potentially large increase in customer loyalty and goodwill that REI gains from keeping the application non-commercial.

One of the most powerful psychological factors in Cialdini’s studies was the overwhelming human need to reciprocate acts of giving. To throw that away by adding a small feature like a store locator might do more harm to the top line than good.

Since even the faintest whiff of self-interest will cancel the reciprocation effect I would recommend REI stay away from half-measures. Keep it completely non-commercial and gets lots of community love or go all out on the hard sell: links to the product catalog, mobile purchasing capability, marketing offers, etc. Trying to straddle both positions will certainly produce a sub-optimal result.