London's Tier Three 'may affect some sales but book-buyers will still shop local'

London booksellers have expressed confidence customers will continue to “shop local” and support bookshops, in spite of unease caused by news that the capital will be moving into the more restrictive Tier Three this week to help cut coronavirus infection rates.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed Greater London will move into England’s highest level of coronavirus restrictions from Wednesday (16th December), alongside parts of Essex and Hertfordshire, as the result of the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases. He said in some areas the virus was doubling around every seven days.

Although non-essential retail is still permitted in Tier Three where the risk of coronavirus is “very high”, Hancock told MPs yesterday (Monday 14th) that on the "very important" issue of Christmas shopping, Tier Three meant minimising travel trips within or to areas in the tier.

At Waterstones, a spokesperson said: “We expect a reinforced version of a pattern we already see, namely of busy local bookshops and quieter central metropolitan locations. We don’t anticipate a negative impact on London neighbourhood locations with customers continuing to shop locally.”

A number of independents were similarly bullish. Dulwich Books owner Cathy Slater said: “People come to the bookshop for a bookshop. We are very busy at the moment and I don’t think it will affect us too much."

Belgravia Books’ owner Andy Barr said: "It’s not ideal but I don’t think it will have a massive impact in terms of footfall. There are tons of restaurants and bars where we are, but not on the same street,” he said, addressing the potential loss of custom from closure of hospitality businesses nearby.

Pavla Safratova, bookseller at Goldsboro Books, said they didn’t expect to be radically affected by going into Tier Three either. “We are not expecting high foot traffic here anyway,” she said. “It has been really quiet for the last two weeks since the second lockdown. We have been lucky, though: the mail order business has kept us going.”

Vivian Archer of Newham Bookshop reasoned: “We’ve managed through two lockdowns. People, I think, will be very cautious. Central London will be a major problem. But I think people will still support and buy from their local bookshops.”

She added: “We’ve actually outdone last year’s figures. It’s quite extraordinary – how much people have bought has been incredible,” in reference to the shop’s delivery business.

Brick Lane Bookshop bookseller Karolina Dimitrova said: “It's hard to know how much the Tier Three restrictions will impact us, but we are of course glad that we can remain open." She added, striking an optimistic note: “It may be that we get busier, as people will only be able to meet outside and the only activities they can do will be walking and shopping.”

Others expressed concern. Natalia de la Ossa, bookshop manager for the London Review Bookshop, said: “Sadly, I do think it will have an impact on sales. The cake shop will have to close to the public, hospitality around us as well, and the British Museum. It will mean a decline in footfall and make sales budgets pretty hard to achieve. I also think emotionally it is a very hard blow – we have seen such a wonderful surge in footfall which raised our hopes and morale. But we will reinforce that we can still fulfil orders online!”

Barr expressed some misgivings how clear it would be to customers that non-essential retail in Tier Three is still open and hungry for business. “I think the main issue is that people don’t seem to understand what Tier Three means,” he said. “Many customers have been confused by what the difference is between Tier Three and a full-on lockdown, and this could make some people assume the non-essential shops will be shut. That will have an impact.”

Archer said she anticipated some people will be staying home more by choice in the run-up to Christmas to protect loved ones they plan to see. “The only thing that could be a slight problem is that we’ve heard quite a lot of people say they’re going to self-isolate for seven days before so they can go and visit parents and so on,” she said. “Whether that’s going to be allowed anyway [visiting family across tiers], I don’t know, but we have had a lot of people say they are worried about going out.”

“I think people are thinking if we can just hold down and get through to spring, then hopefully this nightmare will be behind us, so perhaps now is not the time to be reckless,” Uli Lenart, deputy manager at Gay’s the Word, echoed. He added: “The level of stress and pressure independent bookshops are under is intense, and there’s been a real wave of understanding coming from the BA.”

London will move into the highest level of virus restrictions, Tier Three, at 00:01 on Wednesday 16th December, after almost 24,000 cases of coronavirus were confirmed between 5th and 11th December in the capital. The next review of tiers–now moving to a weekly frequency–is scheduled for 23rd December.