Two distinctly different window displays beckon shoppers at Wide World Books & Maps in Seattle, Wash.: one showcases books promoting cold-weather destinations like Switzerland and the other warm-weather locales like Mexico and Costa Rica.
Another in-store display was created especially for the holiday season, highlights novels and has a sign declaring "Let Literature Be Your Guide"--inspired by an article in the November issue of Condé Nast Traveler titled "The 69 Greatest Fiction Travel Books of All Time." (The magazine defines a fiction travel book as one "in which a place is as important a character as the protagonist.") Wide World Books & Maps owner Simone Andrus and her staff selected a dozen of the titles to feature in the display, ranging from recent reads like Gary Shteyngart's Absurdistan to classics like Jack Kerouac's On the Road and Rudyard Kipling's Kim.
Those who prefer nonfiction will find plenty of suggestions, such as How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization, The Places in Between by Rory Stewart, who recalls his trek across Afghanistan, and The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry by Kathleen Finn about her days at a Parisian cooking school. Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea is a consistent bestseller, and customers often buy multiple copies. Over the last eight years, the store's armchair travel section has increased by 200%.
Trade paperback sales at Wide World Books & Maps have grown in recent years, particularly national bestsellers when they become available in the less expensive format. "That has been a trend for our customers for a long time," said Andrus. "We've never been the place where the rich shop. We're the place where travelers shop, and a lot of travelers were cost-conscious even before the current economic crisis."
While customers aren't necessarily curtailing traveling, Andrus has noticed a shift toward more frugal budgets. Travelers are opting for two-star rather than three-star hotels and forgoing popular destinations like France and Italy for less expensive countries in Eastern Europe and Latin and South America. For travelers who "want a European feel, cities like Buenos Aires are great for that," said Andrus. In addition, guidebook sales have changed as publishers strive to match travelers' specific interests--creating guides for lesser-known cities, "top 10" highlights for those short on time and ones focused solely on restaurants. "Overall country guides are down, but regional guides and city guides are up," said Andrus.
Atlases are also selling well this holiday season--and for special occasions like weddings, graduations and birthdays, Andrus noted.
Books account for about 45% of the store's revenue, with the rest coming from maps and sidelines. Shoppers are purchasing wall maps of the world and the U.S. to give as gifts (for those who plan ahead, the store will have them mounted) as well as photographic destination-themed calendars and page-per-day language calendars. Books are often paired with travel accessories like a mini wind-up flashlight or a luggage tag. And all bookstore owners would be "well-advised" to carry Moleskine journals, said Andrus. "They make a fabulous gift."
This month Andrus is keeping a closer watch on stock. She generally orders from Partners/West Book Distributors in the Seattle suburb of Renton twice a week but is currently doing so on a daily basis. Books ordered in the morning are delivered in the afternoon, which "really allows us to keep track of our inventory so we know we're not over-ordering," Andrus said. A few sales have been lost when a book is not in the store, "but we've gained a lot of sales by being able to tell someone that we can get a book for them the next day."
Overall sales at Wide World Books & Maps are down compared with this time last year. "I myself am watching every penny, and I can't imagine my customers are that much different," said Andrus. The store has an eclectic customer base, ranging from high school students studying abroad to business travelers and retirement-age adventurers. Whether they're heading for the beach or the slopes, indulging in armchair travel or encouraging recipients on their holiday gift lists to do the same, Wide World Books & Maps has ample suggestions for satisfying wanderlust.--Shannon McKenna Schmidt