Booksellers confident in customer mask wearing but fear less festive footfall

Booksellers across England are gearing up to enforce compulsory mask wearing in their shops from today, with many deploying additional safety signage and handing out free face coverings to unequipped customers.

As of 30th November, face masks are compulsory in shops and on public transport in England, and UK arrivals are expected to have to take a PCR test, in response to the new Omicron variant. Though most booksellers are confident in their customers’ “common sense”, some are concerned the fear around the new variant may deter people from visiting shops in the run up to Christmas, resulting in poorer festive sales.

Meryl Halls, m.d. of the Booksellers Association, said most booksellers welcomed the tightening of restrictions and staff "will be pretty comfortable with the new regulations from the government". She said:  "Bookshop owners’ first priority is always to keep staff and customers safe and to create a welcoming, safe environment. The BA will be updating the downloadable point-of-sale materials around mask wearing and sending it out to our English members, together with links to the regulations, so that they can firm up their approach if they need to.”

Leanne Fridd, who runs Bookbugs & Dragon Tales in Norwich, hopes the new variant won’t deter people from shopping on the high street and is determined to make customers feel safe enough to continue bricks and mortar shopping. She said: “Everything has been so hard to predict for the last two years, I’m not sure if the new variant will deter people from shopping in person or not. I certainly don’t feel like the high street has returned to normal just yet. Footfall seems down on this time last year but per person spend is up generally so we are doing ok at the moment.

“We have always encouraged customers to wear masks where possible as being a small independent, we struggle to cover staff illness and the customers have all been fully on board with this. I would say that we have had about 70%–80% of customers wearing masks and I’m sure that they will be fully supportive when it becomes mandatory.

“The new variant is a worrying development but I think that the bookselling community is a resilient one and, as ever, will continue to innovate to help our customers feel safe when shopping."

John James, co-owner of The Aldeburgh Bookshop in Suffolk, said the majority of people who visit the store have kept their mask on despite it being optional until now. While he doesn’t think the new variant will adversely affect Christmas sales, he and co-owner Mary James are keeping the shop “well ventilated”, opting to have the windows and doors open during trading hours.  “It is  freezing but offers a measure of reassurance to customers,” John James said. 

Mary James added: “We have had a notice in the window saying that we prefer people to wear masks and almost everybody has respected this. We haven’t had any trouble about this, I am glad to say. We staff wear them all the time which helps remind people and we feel it’s only fair on our colleagues as we work alongside each all day.”

Ross Bradshaw, owner of Five Leaves in Nottingham, continued asking customers to wear masks after restrictions were lifted on the so-called "Freedom Day" and reported “near universal acceptance” of the request. 

“As well as asking, we offered free masks to those who arrived without and since 1st September we have given out over 800,” he told The Bookseller. “We have had a lot of positive feedback from our customers about this. So, in a sense, it will be business as usual from Tuesday onwards though we expect some of our customers returning to mail order rather than visiting in person, so fewer impulse buys.”

Jim MacSweeny, manager at London’s Gay’s the Word, has also been handing out masks to the few customers who forget. He said: “Almost all of our customers have been wearing masks and we ask them to hand sanitise when they come in so we don't think it'll make any difference to us. Our till point is near the door and we wear masks. Anytime someone comes in, we look up and say hello and if they're not wearing a mask, they generally try and find one in their bag to put on. We also keep a supply of masks with us.”

A spokesperson for Blackwell’s reported the chain’s customers have been happy to adhere to the Covid-19 safety rules throughout the pandemic and it is confident this will apply this time round as well. 

“We will re-use the signage that we used last time face masks were in force, as this served as a good reminder – and of course this is the same signage as we’ve been using in Scotland and Wales, where masks have continued to be mandatory,” the spokesperson said. “Keeping our customers safe has been foremost in our minds throughout the course of the pandemic and will remain so. Our customers know that they can shop with us in safety and enjoy the incomparable buzz of doing their Christmas shopping with us.” 

At Waterstones branches, customers have also been encouraged to wear face masks and maintain social distancing when restrictions lifted. "The majority of our customers followed the spirit of government guidance, that has helped to create a safe shopping environment," a spokesperson said. "We also request our staff to continue employing the three primary control measures — face masks, appropriate social distancing and cleanliness and hand hygiene — that have kept both our staff and our customers secure during the ongoing pandemic."

Mairi Oliver, owner of Edinburgh’s radical bookshop Lighthouse, said she was “hugely relieved” to see the re-introduction of masks in England and quarantine for international travellers. Unlike England, mask wearing has remained mandatory in Scotland and Oliver said customers' desire to wear them had showed little sign of waning.

“Lighthouse is a stone's throw from Edinburgh's main rail station and in the heart of the Old Town so we see a lot of tourists coming through the bookshop — the only time we ever have to explain and insist on masks, is with visitors from down south who have lost the habit and get embarrassed or defensive about it,” she said.

“Basic precautions and care are just common sense and one less bone of contention in a fraught climate is always welcome.”