I walked the streets of Manhattan quite a bit on a recent trip. It was hot. Heat advisory hot. As I walked, I occasionally felt strong blasts of cold air. Not just a little breeze; shots of chilled air crossing the sidewalk. Where were they coming from?

The strongest sidewalk air conditioning seemed to come from New York souvenir shops. The stores with mugs, t-shirts, keychains, stickers, and hundreds of NYC themed items. They had their doors wide open and the temperature was cold compared to that on the street.

I presume the owners of these stores are not interested in creating a better sidewalk experience; they want people to feel that air and head inside. In the cool interior, they will snatch up all kinds of souvenirs they did not know they needed. They will linger even longer when they remember how hot it is outside.

Few other businesses pursued this model. Department stores, restaurants, office buildings, indoor malls – their doors had to be opened and closed. They did not feel the need to try to entice people on the sidewalks with air conditioning.

Does the free air conditioning work? Does it sell more souvenirs? Since it is not cheap to let all that air conditioning escape, I’m guessing it may help these stores (or they believe it helps).