Increase in staycationers aids indie rebound

A number of independent bookshops are reporting that a rise in UK staycations is helping to counter the early damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

As Spain becomes the latest country to warrant a post-visit quarantine, an increasing number of British holiday makers have been choosing to stay at home or travel within the UK this summer, which independent bookshops located in tourist destinations believe they are now benefiting from.

Ellen Cammack, manager of Bookends in the Lake District village of Keswick, said: “Keswick is a very busy place for tourists and this is always our busiest time of year. Since the restrictions on accommodation were lifted a few weeks ago we have been very busy, compared to earlier when we were obviously much quieter than normal. The town itself is very busy and there seem to be a lot of day visitors coming up on weekends.”

She added: “We are selling a lot of local guides and maps obviously, children's books and reduced fiction, but perhaps fewer full-price fiction, especially hardbacks. I feel like people are keen to support local businesses which is great.”

Cammack recognised increased footfall from staycationers had given business a boost, however she acknowledged social distancing was likely still having an impact on the shop’s takings. “I definitely think there are more staycationers," she said. "To be honest I think we're taking about the same as the last year or two at this time of year; there are more people around but having a limit on people coming into the shop will have an effect. But I feel those who are making the effort to come in the shop are more likely to buy something than usual.”

John James, co-owner of the Aldeburgh Bookshop in Suffolk, also observed an increase in footfall attributed to staycationers-“day trippers, second homers and holiday homers”-who were “due to come earlier in the year but who were obviously prevented by lockdown”. He welcomed the traffic, saying he was “working harder than ever”, but remained cautious about the autumn. “The problem months may be October and September when the trade lessens, the staff come off furlough and we pay for them fully; the old people who live here do not come out to shop like they used to,” he said. “We are crossing our fingers, but so far, so good.”

Other sellers have seen their business pick up drastically since July. Chris Painton, co-founder of Serendip in Lyme Regis, said: “We started to see a number of visitors from about 10th July or so and business has picked up markedly. We expect July as a whole to be at about 75%-80% of last year which is pretty good given the sluggish start to the month.

“Now that we are seeing problems with overseas holidays, we do expect far more people to have some sort of holiday in the UK instead this year. We are well placed in Lyme Regis to take advantage of this and we certainly hope that August will be back to last year's levels.”

In Cornwall, the hike in July sales was welcomed by Ron Johns, who owns bookshops in Falmouth, St Ives and Padstow, and is seeking to reverse the drop in revenue caused by closed premises.

“We’re busy - not as busy as we would normally be but we are busy,” he said. “Around four weeks ago we were looking at 80% down on turnover per week, now it’s gradually going up and up. Last week we were 40% down, I expect that to get up to only 10% or 15% down in the next few weeks. Having lots of people [visit] is helping, and I do think we are getting more people in. Compared to a month ago, it’s been miraculous, we’ve gone from the doldrums of hardly anybody, to nearly a feeling of overload.”

However, Johns is also feeling the effect of restricting the number of people allowed in to shop and peruse at any one time. “The problem is the number of people we can get into each shop. This month will be very busy, but the main problem is the size of our shops and how many people we can fit in [while adhering to Covid-19 safety measures.] “So while we have the footfall, we can’t get as many people in, which affects the sales,” he said.

At the St Ives branch, only two people are currently allowed in at once, but Johns is about to change this. Government regulations have left safety measures largely up to vendors, and the BA has provided bookshops with safety equipment and instructions. Johns is taking measures to double the number of people allowed in the shops, while adhering to safety precautions: “We’re more or less doubling them up, and since everyone is wearing masks, I feel we are justified in doing that,” he said. “The lack of government commitment more or less says it’s up to the retailer to decide whether spacing is one metre or two.

“We’ve got two months, really, of summer business, and we really need to have a good go at it now while people are here.”

In Ambleside, Steve Baskerville-Muscutt of Fred Holdsworth Books is implementing different strategies to take advantage of the increase in tourists. “For those wishing to go upstairs to our children's and YA sections, we have a red/green 'traffic light' system which we turn round as necessary,” he said. "For instance, when a 'family bubble' has gone upstairs we turn the large round disc to red to stop others going up, until they come back down, then we turn it around to the green disc. This way we can maintain a good flow of customers instead of restricting it to one or two at a time in the bookshop.”

Baskerville-Muscutt, who delayed re-opening the shop in June because it relies heavily on trade from tourists, experienced an immediate jump in sales. “I reopened the bookshop on 3rd July. The decision to open then was because holiday lets, hotels, campsites, bars and restaurants were opening on Saturday 4th July. Visitors make up 75% to 80% of my business so it seemed sensible to leave opening till then.

“Business was so good that I quickly had to unfurlough one of my staff and we were able to open normal hours, seven days a week, with sanitising stations and 'social distance' markers around the floor. To date, turnover for July will be up on the same time last year and I believe that August should be similar. The weather can be somewhat changeable, but it doesn't appear to deter folk.”

He continued: “My outlook for August remains optimistic and I see no reason for business to falter. Word from business friends in the holiday cottage industry report solid bookings through to October. Hotels, B&Bs and guest houses report similar information though they will obviously have reduced visitors by virtue of distancing restrictions. Adverse news of 'local spikes' abroad should help UK holiday destinations better and we do have a glorious diversity of landscape, people and attractions here in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland."

Despite the positive outlook so far-although parts of the UK, including West Yorkshire, Manchester and parts of East Lancashire are experiencing tougher restrictions through to August-the fear of a second lockdown is a threat to the livelihood of those bookshops that are largely dependent on tourist trade.

Johns said: “The turnaround so far is miraculous. But we have got the worry of a second lockdown, it’s a worry for everyone. There’s a lot of people here [in Cornwall] at the moment, so we’re just praying there won’t be another wave."

Painton said the uplift in trading patterns should continue in Lyme Regis, but this was dependent on whether a second wave of the pandemic hit the south-west. “We are optimistic about the remainder of this year, always provided there is no coronavirus spike in our area,” he said. "So far, the south-west has had very few cases, but with the influx of visitors, the risk of more cases does increase.”