At Maria's Bookshop in Durango, Colo., journals, greeting cards, reading glasses, earrings and stickers are all doing very well, reported gift and children's book buyer Julie Shimada. Historically, some of the shop's bestselling nonbook items have included the impulse items displayed on the front counter, and that's holding true for 2022. 
Shimada pointed to Pop Rocks candy, gel pens and stickers--particularly the "I Poop on Racists," "...Fascists" and "...Anti-Vaxxers" stickers from Mincing Mockingbird--as strong sellers.
On the subject of new gift items, Shimada said she's brought in some new jewelry, journal and greeting card lines in the past few weeks, most of them sourced from the online wholesale marketplace Faire. Recently Faire had a week of discounts and vendor specials, a bit like a virtual trade show, and those discounts were a big incentive for Shimada to try new vendors. She noted that she's been using Faire "more and more."
Asked whether there are any differences between current sales and pre-pandemic sales, Shimada answered that in 2021, journals were up 32% and cards up 20% compared to 2019. Over the holidays, boxed card and calendar sales were so robust that the store is still short on stock. As a result, Shimada plans to order 30% more in 2022 than she did in 2021, and those orders were already up by about 25%-30% compared to 2019.
Supply chain and shipping issues, Shimada continued, have been a much bigger problem with sidelines and gift items than with books. For most of 2021, sideline orders rarely shipped complete, leaving considerable backorders. Plush and other toys that come from overseas were a "real struggle to get," and Shimada noted that sometimes vendors would cancel backorders without any warning or notification. Orders from some vendors were delayed for as long as two months, and across the board there were increases in wholesale prices.
"All in all, 2021 was a good year for sidelines sales," Shimada said. "It was just an incredibly frustrating year to be a sidelines buyer."
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Suzanna Hermans, co-owner of Oblong Books & Music in Rhinebeck and Millerton, N.Y., said it's a quiet time of year for sidelines, but jigsaw puzzles, greeting cards, journals and boxed notecards are doing well.
Hermans recently ordered some exciting new items, including therapeutic heat pillows from Cherapy, which are made in the U.S. by a woman-owned company; puzzles from Apostrophe, which feature art from BIPOC artists who receive a share of the profits; teas from Flowerhead Tea, which are organic and made by a woman-owned company; and the conversation game Actually Curious, which is a Black-owned business.
She added that many of the store's vendors have been strained by supply chain issues and price increases. Her tactic now is to order "20%-50% more than I normally would, since so many items will never arrive."
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Kathy Detwiler, owner of Buttonwood Books and Toys in Cohasset, Mass., said that everything in the cards and stationery department has been doing very well since the beginning of the year, and Valentine's Day provided a "great push" for cards earlier this month.
Shortly before the 2021 holiday season, Detwiler and her team brought in a line of coasters called Drinks on Me. They've proven so popular that "we just keep reordering them," she said. Customers will pick up coasters for themselves or stick them in a birthday card or include them with a book as a gift, and recently Buttonwood added a display featuring their new cocktail napkins. Detwiler noted that a line of Candy Club candy that came in clear acrylic jars and featured love messages written on them did very well recently.
Asked how the store's current gift and sidelines mix compares to the mix prior to the pandemic, Detwiler said things "bounced right back" in 2021. Customers felt safe shopping in-store and were "so excited" to get back. They seemed "hungry to buy new things" and purchased personal items as well as gifts. Detwiler pointed out that in 2021 the "birthday market" for young children really came up, and children's gifts are still doing extremely well. Some popular children's lines include plush toys from eco-Kids and Timber Tots from Fat Brain Toys.
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On the subject of the supply chain, Detwiler said she and her team saw these issues coming in the beginning of 2021. They "really listened" to the store's reps and added storage space so they could place much larger orders than usual. Normally the store does a lot of delayed shipping dates, but last year they were "advised not to do that if you want this product." Despite placing larger than normal orders the store was able to "absorb it financially" thanks to extended dating.
"I don't see the supply chain changing much at all for 2022," Detwiler said. She recommended that if booksellers can find additional storage, they should take advantage of it and "buy large." --Alex Mutter