The year that was

With the year drawing to a close, the crucial pre-Christmas period is now under way for booksellers, who are hoping for a return to a more traditional sales window than we experienced in 2020. Despite the hectic nature of the coming weeks, it feels important to take a moment to reflect on the extraordinary obstacles that have been faced by bookshops in 2021 and consider, with cautious optimism, the coming year. 

We began the year with the country in full lockdown, an additional hardship for bookshops which had already been closed for much of 2020. As in earlier lockdowns, we saw our members do everything they could to bring books to their customers during these months, pivoting services online and providing home deliveries and subscription services for readers. Booksellers’ resilience was demonstrated once again as lockdown began to lift in the spring: they welcomed customers back in person with unfailing care and awareness of safety, despite vague and shifting guidelines from the government. Since then, with customers growing confident shopping in person, booksellers have begun to hold events again, providing a space for authors and readers to come together, and have created incredible hand-selling campaigns for everything from bestselling juggernaut titles to beautiful débuts from smaller presses. 

It is the individual booksellers who have done the remarkable job of adapting to unprecedented challenges in order to continue doing important work in their communities. Despite these phenomenal efforts, the sector is not out of the woods as yet.

The Booksellers Association has been by the side of bookshops throughout the year, working with members to provide support, be that creating recovery funds for those most impacted by the pandemic, providing lockdown guidance, lobbying the government for clarity and greater support, or as part of campaigns such as Shop Kind. We are proud to have been able to assist bookshops during this time, but it is the individual booksellers who have done the remarkable job of adapting to unprecedented challenges in order to continue doing important work in their communities. Despite these phenomenal efforts, the sector is not out of the woods as yet. 

Following months of lockdowns and uncertainty, we are now seeing a new challenge impacting bookshops, the wider high street and beyond, in the form of supply chain issues. Created by a perfect storm of Brexit, Covid and global logistics disruption, delays in stock have come at the worst possible time for retailers looking to make up for an extended period of lower footfall and subsequent sales.

The Booksellers Association has been working jointly with publishers and distributors to mitigate the impact of these issues as much as possible for bookshops, providing booksellers with guidance and clear communication on delays. While cross-industry collaboration is essential for reducing delays, it seems likely that issues around stock provision will continue to impact bookshops and their customers throughout the Christmas period and on into 2022. With the high street still recovering from many months of closures and hardships, all while continuing to fight Amazon’s unfair advantages, it is vital that we continue to work together to provide bookshops with the resources they need to rebuild and thrive. 

There are a number of reasons to be optimistic. In the months since bookshops reopened to customers, we have seen first-hand the public’s enthusiasm for local bookshops. Events for Independent Bookshop Week and Bookshop Day, as well as reports of strong sales and footfall around Super Thursday, demonstrate that readers are returning to bookshops, eager to have the bespoke experience of a bookseller recommending titles. We have seen new bookshops open during the pandemic too, illustrating the tenacity of booksellers even in the face of towering challenges. The importance of bookshops is also becoming apparent as high streets reopen and booksellers return to their place as leaders within their communities. An interim report by the Institute of Place Management, shared at this year’s BA Conference, showcased the significance of bookshops for high street regeneration, highlighting their role in providing the environment necessary for town centre revitalisation. Between this and the impressive return to normal service in just a few months, it is clear that bookshops, and the dedicated people that run them, are needed now more than ever, consistently stepping up to the plate to provide book lovers with impeccable service and unbeatable knowledge of the market. 

As we look ahead to 2022 and hope for more certainty and stability for bookshops, the Booksellers Association will continue to support booksellers as they rebuild, providing them with the resources and assistance they need to connect with readers and champion new books. We will be picking up, with our members, the crucial work on sustainability and on representation and inclusion in bookselling, creating a professional development platform for our members, as well as continuing our investment in trade infrastructure with Batch and Batchline [stock management systems]. As ever, we will continue to encourage the public to choose bookshops, and urge the publishing industry to keep booksellers in the front of their mind as they plan for the coming year. Bookshops have proven throughout the pandemic that they are an essential aspect of the publishing ecosystem, able to get titles in front of readers even during a global catastrophe, and we all need to support their work if we want to see them thrive in the years to come.

Meryl Halls is the managing director of the Booksellers Association.