Irish customers welcome reopened bookstores

Customers have "welcomed" the opening of bookstores in Ireland this week, The Bookseller has heard.

The bookshops opened at 10.30 a.m. on Monday (8th June) to stagger high street footfall with commuter traffic, in accordance with government guidelines.

All bookshops, apart from those in shopping centres, are able to reopen now, with mall outlets opening as of 15th June. Eason shops and most independent vendors have opened, with Dubray's bookstores opening for business today (10th June). Most shops are planning a phased reopening with shorter opening hours and reduced staff to begin with.

"There was huge anxiety beforehand," said former bookseller and Unwin Charitable trust mentor Sheila O'Reilly, who has been visiting and talking to bookshops.

But describing the first day back in high street trade for bookshops, O'Reilly said people were "eager to get out and go shopping, and to look at the new books", which shops had in place because Gardners restarted their shipments about three weeks ago. Customers were also "very understanding that not everybody could be in the shop at one time," and were queuing at a safe distance.

Under the government's guidelines, vendors have introduced a number of safety measures, including displaying signage supplied by the BA, and encouraging the use of hand sanitiser and plastic shields at checkout counters. "Quite a lot of the shops are strongly encouraging customers to [use] hand sanitiser before they come in, so they're not bringing anything into the shop, which seems to be working," O'Reilly said. "Bookshop owners have said to me their customers were impressed with the standard of health and safety, and felt comfortable and safe coming into shops, which is really important," she added.

The bookselling community in Ireland has been unanimous in its praise of the Booksellers Association, O'Reilly said. "People have told me how impressed they've been. There has been huge support from the BA. As a trade association they have gone way above and beyond, it's been very impressive."

During lockdown, the BA sent independent retailers a set of guidelines to accommodate small shops, based on the two-metre distancing rule in addition to signage about keeping customers and traders safe.

O'Reilly noted that their had been an increase in people buying books online during the height of lockdown, but that many customers were buying through bookshops' e-commerce channels. "A lot of people have said to me they didn't want to go to Amazon, so they bought books online form other independent bookstores, so they weren't cheating," she said.

In an effort to support independent retailers, the Irish postal service reduced their parcel rate to €2.95 for books during lockdown, which was a "game-changer" for businesses.

O'Reilly said she felt the e-commerce side of retailing, which has flourished for many independent publishers during lockdown, would continue as all shops begin to open.

She warned however that bookshops would struggle if they were not met with more support. "I hope to see more bookseller and publisher collaboration, because the publishers must realise the shops need to be supported more," she said. "They're not going to survive on the high street if they don't get more support from the publishers."