In Omaha, Neb., The Bookworm of Omaha has remained open throughout the pandemic, reported co-owner Phillip Black, though the store did slightly reduce hours between late March and June. After an initial dip at the start of the pandemic, sales have largely recovered, though the store is no longer doing in-person events either offsite or at the store.
Black noted that they've had some successful virtual events, but even those have been "nothing like what we once did." As booksellers, he and his team now spend much more time fulfilling telephone and Internet orders than actually handselling books.
The Bookworm is following CDC guidelines and the now-standard safety precautions: masks are required, hand sanitizer is available for customers and staff, surfaces are cleaned frequently and social distancing is practiced. The store is also doing curbside pick-up and discounted shipping for those who do not want to enter the store. Over the holidays the Bookworm will open an hour earlier each day for people over the age of 65 and in other vulnerable groups.
Black added that they've had no problems with customers refusing to wear masks or follow distancing guidelines--one of the advantages of running a bookstore is they "almost universally have educated and well-informed customers."
The brightest spot over the past several months, Black continued, is how staunchly customers have supported the store. The Bookworm's online business has grown substantially and they "keep picking up new customers." The "buy local" message also seems to have really penetrated, with many of the new customers from the local area.
On the subject of holiday buying, Black explained that he and his wife, Beth Black, did the bulk of it over the summer, long before they could have had a clear idea of what the holidays would look like. They've bought books at about the same level as years past, but they are being more conservative with sidelines and gifts. They expect supply chain problems to worsen as the holidays near, so they've done more "defensive buying" than normal.
Last month they began "bombarding" their customers with the early-shopping message, and many people seem to be responding. October sales were strong, and-November is off to a good start.
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Nicole Sullivan, owner of BookBar in Denver, Colo., reported that her store reopened for browsing at the beginning of October. In order to keep things as safe as possible, she and her team removed all of the store's interior seating, including at the bar. They also reorganized the store's layout to allow for more books, and, as "heartbreaking" as it was, to remove all of the seating. Still, "the store looks great and we're really loving the layout."
There is now a check-in desk at the front door, and they've set up a reservation system through Square that allows customers to make appointments for browsing, since the store is allowing only 10 people in at a time, including staff members. Sullivan said there's been some pressure to reinstall at least some of the store's seating, but it feels much safer without giving customers an excuse to linger in one place for too long. And to make sure that everyone keeps their masks on at all times, food and drink is no longer allowed in store, though is still available to-go and on the patio.
The biggest bright spot, Sullivan continued, has been the store's increase in online sales. Prior to the pandemic, she and her team found it very difficult to "train" customers to shop online with BookBar instead of Amazon, but now it seems that customers have finally made the switch. The store has also gotten more creative with ways to serve customers, including putting together themed book bundles with wine or beer, a novel and a cookbook. The team has also created an online form that customers can complete in advance of visiting the store, to allow staff to do some pre-shopping.
Today BookBar announced a new monthly book club called Supper Salon, which the store created in partnership with Bonanno Concepts, an award-winning restaurant group in Denver. Each month, they invite a local author to pick a book for discussion, which they will co-moderate with BookBar staff. Bonanno Concepts will create a meal and optional cocktail pairing that will be delivered to attendees before the event. The $40 fee will include a ticket to the event, a paperback copy of the book and the chosen meal.
On the subject of holiday buying, Sullivan said she ended up buying "exactly the same" this year compared to previous years, though her initial quantities were too low and she had to revise several orders. Although she's received a lot of advice about ordering big on the top 25, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she'll be "gambling on educating customers on why we might be sold out of some of the most popular titles and why it is a great opportunity to discover new authors and titles."
She noted that BookBar is down around 50% in sales overall, but the majority of that is because of the massive reductions in bar sales. Book sales, on the other hand, are more or less even with 2019.
Since March, BookBar's nonprofit wing BookGive has grown "by leaps and bounds," and just marked the 25,000-book donation milestone. The organization is hosting a holiday book giveaway the day after Small Business Saturday, and on SBS itself BookBar shoppers will be encouraged to buy two books and donate one to the drive. The BookBar author bed & breakfast, meanwhile, has been converted into a Writers in Residence program in cooperation with Lighthouse Writers Workshop and is booked through May 2021. And, finally, Sullivan and the team just recently launched BookBar Press, which will be releasing its first two books next month. --Alex Mutter