In Cohasset, Mass., Buttonwood Books & Toys recently increased its capacity to 22, owner Kathy Detwiler reported, and though customers still sometimes have to line up outside on the weekends, the wait is usually short now. A recent game changer was making use of the unrented space next door. During the holidays the space served as the gift-wrapping station, but now it is even more valuable as a "private and safe space" for her staff to use for lunch and breaks.
Currently, Detwiler and her team are trying to "maintain a positive sense of store normalcy" with the launch of its annual Give Back Campaign, through which the store donates a percentage of the proceeds from a given picture book to a nonprofit. This year the book is Kind: A Book About Kindness by Alison Green, and the nonprofit recipient is a pediatric palliative care program called Fragile Footprints.
Detwiler added that in some ways, it feels like the store is just coming back up for air after a very busy end to 2020. All in all, the store was down only single digits compared to 2019, which Detwiler said she takes as a win, given how bad things were from March through early June last year.
Looking ahead in 2021, Detwiler said she expects the store to be flat or slightly up in revenue. While she is optimistic, she did point out that the store's profitability will be lower given the higher payroll costs from added Covid roles as well as a minimum wage increase. She is ordering sidelines "heavier and earlier" to avoid shipping and supply chain problems, and in general many of the store's vendors are communicating better about delays and shortages.
The team is also tracking shipping fees carefully, as there have been large jumps in rates across the board, and trying to build those fees into their retail costs where possible. Another cause for optimism, she added, is that the store is starting to plan some author events for the spring and summer that will be a hybrid between virtual events and sidewalk signings.
The community's continued support for the store, Detwiler said, has been its "lifeline." A major bright spot over the last year has been the store's community partnerships. Schools and teachers are buying from the store more frequently; last week the Friends of the Library purchased a large amount of gift cards for a school vacation reading challenge; and a local dentist is working with the store to purchase 100 books for families in the community.
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Bea and Leah Koch, owners of The Ripped Bodice in Culver City, Calif., reported that things are still "very far from a pre-pandemic normal," but not much has changed from the store's new normal that has been in effect since about June. Around 90% of the store's sales are online, foot traffic is minimal and events are prohibited.
All told, the store ended 2020 on much better footing than they would have expected back in May. While in-store sales were down 50% from 2019, online sales were up 300%, and the launch of the store's new subscription box was a major bright spot.
January was slow, but the store is used to that. Being a romance-only bookstore, Valentine's Day is a "big deal," and over the past few weeks they've been quite busy putting together gift boxes for the holiday. Looking further ahead, they are still very much taking this "day by day," and, given the state of the vaccine rollout in Los Angeles, they don't anticipate much of a change until at least the summer. --Alex Mutter