We shopped at Barnes & Noble and saw a key shortcoming that's hurting the chain in its battle against Amazon (AMZN)

• Barnes & Noble is struggling to compete with Amazon.
• Barnes & Noble stores have become places where customers read, hang out, and have a cup of coffee rather than just shop.
• Revenue from the Nook e-reader, which Barnes & Noble released to compete with Amazon's Kindle, has reportedly dropped 85% since 2012. 
• We visited a Barnes & Noble and saw why the chain is struggling. 

Barnes & Noble is struggling to keep up with Amazon. 

The bookstore giant, which has more than 630 locations in the United States, is losing steam in its competition with Amazon. And, some analysts say, its failure to adapt to changing shopping habits could be to blame. 

"People may drop in for a browse but they won't make a dedicated trip to a bookstore," GlobalDataRetail analyst Neil Saunders told The Guardian. "They don't have the need and they don't have the time. The way people shop changed, and that's been detrimental for Barnes & Noble."

Barnes & Noble has tried to combat people's shifting attitudes towards shopping by creating a great in-store experience, but in doing so, they seem to have become more like libraries than bookstores. People come to browse books, study, have a cup of coffee, and meet up with their friends — not necessarily to buy books.

In the past five years, Barnes & Noble has lost more than $1 billion in value. It cut 1,800 full-time jobs earlier this year.  

The Nook, the e-reader Barnes & Noble launched to compete with the Kindle, hasn't helped the situation.The New York Times reported that revenue from sales of Nook devices has dropped a whopping 85% since 2012. When we visited a Barnes & Noble store in New York City, the section of the store dedicated to the Nook was completely empty of customers. 

"That was a massive distraction for Barnes & Noble that should now be abandoned," Saunders said to The Guardian.

Keep scrolling to see why the chain is struggling:  

SEE ALSO: We compared Amazon and Walmart-owned Jet.com to see which site was easier to shop — and the winner was clear for a key reason

I visited the four-floor Barnes & Noble store in Manhattan's Union Square in the middle of a weekday.

To the right of the entrance were displays of new releases ...

... and to the left was a collection of New York-themed books.