Strong festive footfall despite Covid but indies concerned lockdown may follow

Indie bookshops are reporting strong trading this Christmas despite the Covid-19 surge, though there is concern they could face a fresh lockdown after the festive period.

The UK is facing a huge wave of Omicron cases as the festive period approaches, with measures being ramped up in the past few weeks. However, despite fears this could hit the high street with people entering a self-imposed lockdown to safeguard their Christmas, many stores contacted by The Bookseller this week said sales were still going strong.

Christine Bridger, manager of the Brackley's Old Hall Bookshop, was relatively upbeat despite the Telegraph reporting that her Northamptonshire town is a “mini hot-spot" of Omicron. She told The Bookseller people are still using the high street to shop, explaining: “I haven’t noticed any ‘self-imposed’ lockdown, the place is heaving – we are aware this is what is being said about the town, or West Northamptonshire, and really we haven’t seen that at all."

Compared to the “odd” situation of last year which saw December sandwiched between lockdowns, Bridger has found this festive period more stable. “This year, it’s really busy and I don’t notice much falling away compared to a normal Christmas without a pandemic. Everything looks like its behaving as it normally does, and I was worried at the beginning of this week they were going to shut us down now because that would make or break Christmas for us really, but it looks like we can keep going now.” 

Unlike some other booksellers, Bridger is relaxed about further restrictions after Christmas. She said: “A January lockdown doesn’t make me worry from a business point of view because, to be quite honest, January from a business perspective is pretty slim and pretty thin. Usually, January is used just for a bit of housekeeping, getting returns sorted out, it’s not a high income generating point of year, so if there were restrictions then, we could take it, that’s the time to do it.” 

Alex Milne-White, co-owner of Hungerfood Books in West Berkshire, described sales as lower than last December but emphasised neither year is a typical scenario. “Generally you're always comparing sales to the same period last year, but last year was not exactly typical,” he said. “Each week in December so far has been down on the previous year, but we'd just come out of a lockdown and were just about to go into another one for the last week before Christmas, so this week will be well up on last year and we could end up being up for December as a whole. It's really hard to tell if any customers are staying away from fear of Covid, because we only see the people who do come in, but footfall doesn't seem to be affected.” 

In Stockton, Drake the Bookshop’s takings are up this month compared to the past two years. Co-owner Richard Drake told The Bookseller: “The high street seems pretty quiet. Unfortunately I had to go to a retail park for an ink cartridge and that was pretty packed, depressingly, but we are still busy and are up on the fourth quarter for the last two years. We have made the decision to close from Friday until 4th January. 

“It would be nice to think there is an end to the tunnel, if for no other reason than to give everyone a chance to decompress from the past two years, but we are very optimistic that the great people of Stockton will continue to support us and the high street in the way they have always done.” 

Debbie Phillips, deputy manager of Imagined Things Bookshop in Harrogate, was also upbeat though, like other independents, and mentioned the strain of constantly monitoring the situation around further restrictions. “It’s definitely felt more like a normal Christmas than last year, but I don’t think it’s been any less stressful. We’re all being forced to spin a lot more plates than usual. We’re monitoring Christmas sales heavily and planning for 2022 means having a plan A, B and C, all of which are subject to change. But we can only do so much and I think people recognise that.”  

Meanwhile Matt Taylor, owner of Chepstow Books and Gifts in Monmouthshire, Wales, said trade was busy and he feels the more residential location of his bookshop is helping: “A lot of people are working from home or on holiday but are still shopping locally rather than going into the cities. As such the effect on sales in smaller town high streets like Chepstow is less than elsewhere. This time last year we were in full lockdown in Wales so trade a lot busier for the week before Christmas this year than last when we were only able to do click and collect from the door.” 

Polly Markham, general manager of Golden Hare Books in Edinburgh, paid tribute to her customers’ loyalty which is helping the store this Christmas. “We are lucky to have a very loyal customer base, who have come out in force to shop with us this December.” 

She cited delivery problems, with various supply crises hitting the industry over the last few months, placing extra burdens on staff. She said: “There have been challenges with orders for home delivery, as delays with couriers and Royal Mail deliveries have made it difficult to predict how long orders will take to arrive with customers. The situation seems to have been changing daily throughout December, and has led to extra workload in the form of fielding customers' enquiries about when their orders might arrive, chasing orders, and sometimes having to resend orders that haven't arrived.” 

Like Phillips, Markham is concerned about the stress of extra planning and monitoring around the government’s plans for 2022. “Looking ahead to the post-Christmas period, it is just impossible to know what it will bring. Waiting for politicians to announce their plans, while also trying to plan rotas, order stock, and generally deal with a very unpredictable situation is extremely frustrating.” 

Fellow Edinburgh indie the Lighthouse Bookshop is seeing only “slightly diminished” trade according to shop manager Jim Taylor however he is concerned about the level of financial support from the government next year. On 21st December chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled £1bn funding for businesses such as pubs and museums and Taylor, like others, said planning is difficult without knowing what packages might be tied to further restrictions. 

“As s a small business the uncertainty over possible new Covid measures — and lack of accompanying governmental support — is gruelling. We have no idea how to plan for the coming months, or if we'll receive any kind of financial support if retail closures are put in place. What is needed from the government is clarity. More restrictions will be necessary to curtail the spread of new Covid variants, and rather than prevaricate the government needs to openly accept this, be clear in its advice and legal requirements, and commit to an adequate support package for the retail sector.” 

In Thirsk, the White Rose Bookshop & Café is also hoping there will be assistance for shops if further restrictions come in and director Sue Lake described concerns over planning. She said: “I fear further restrictions are coming and this may seriously affect our footfall, especially in our café. It’s incredibly difficult to plan staffing and our rota but at the moment it’s business as usual. 

“If there is any sort of  ‘circuit breaker’ coming to restrict our trading, then of course I would be looking at what aid there will be for business.” 

Overall she is reporting good sales though and told The Bookseller: “Trade has been robust, and our high street remains busy this week. A lot of our customers said they bought early as feared we may have had to close, so our peak trading may have passed already.” 

“Historically, the period between Christmas and New Year is very good for us and we only close for the Bank Holidays. Hopefully, if the weather remains mild, people will want to stretch their legs and come to the high street, meet up and use book tokens and spend Christmas money. All of this pending further news from Downing Street.” 

London is experiencing one of the highest case rates of Covid-19 in the country leading the

 from 20th December. The Bloomsbury-based shop is now open for click and collect orders only, citing the increase in infection rates and "uncertainty as to the consequences".

However, in south London, Village Books in West Dulwich is reporting heavy trade, according to owner Hazel Broadfoot. She said: "Trade is good and it’s looking like we’ll be up on last year – very difficult to measure though, with two lots of lockdowns in November and December last year. We’re benefiting from our location in a very residential area I think. Supplies are holding up better than expected and the only title we need that we can’t get is Stanley Tucci’s Taste (Fig Tree) – though I think that’s back at Gardners today.” 

She is, however, more concerned about the lockdown than some other retailers. “I’m dreading the thought of more lockdowns after Christmas – we’ve had two hard years and it would be a great relief to be able to have a period of stability,” she said.