Winter Institute 2023

Independent bookstores’ online sales have increased over 600% since 2019. We’ve made incredible progress, but it’s clear we need to do more to lock in our gains and keep growing. The indie channel sells only about 2% of the books bought online versus roughly 10% of physical retail. Our goal is to increase indie channel e-commerce sales by 5x so that local, independent bookstores capture our share of online sales.
Presented by Andy Hunter, founder and CEO of Bookshop.org, and Phil Davies, ABA’s Director of Ecommerce/IndieCommerce, this session will discuss strategies to increase consumer awareness of the importance of supporting local businesses when shopping online. We will review how to increase online sales for all stores — no matter what platform you use — by looking at digital marketing, audience growth, conversion rates, and other best practices for e-commerce.
We’ll also examine how online consumer behavior has dramatically changed in the post-COVID world, including trends we are seeing on IndieCommerce sites and how stores are adapting. Together, we can leverage our combined market power to capture our fair share of online book sales, safeguard our future, and be a model for how local businesses can hold their own against giant monopolist e-retailers.

This financial modeling workshop will help you evaluate potential new initiatives for your business. Whether you think it’s time to expand your space with another physical or pop-up location, you want to begin or increase your offering of used books or non-book items, or you’re considering adding a cafe or bar, this workshop will walk you through the financial analysis to help you make sound business decisions. Preliminary work in the Strategic Planning Series: Part I, Part II, and Part III will benefit attendees of this session.

In this interactive workshop, booksellers will have the opportunity to practice service leadership skills. Service leaders turn the traditional “power leadership” model upside down by focusing on empowering instead of commanding. Managers who practice service leadership have found that this method supports potential, creativity, and purpose in their employees. If this approach is different from what you practice and you want to learn more, come join the conversation! And if you are already practicing servant leadership, you will enjoy the opportunity to refresh your skills. (Managers)

Led by a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) facilitator, this workshop will address current conflicts in retail spaces. Participants will have practice opportunities with real-life scenarios. (All)

A good hiring process will help you attract and retain high-quality booksellers who are passionate about your mission. Onboarding new employees, while time consuming, can make or break that employee’s successful transition from a new employee to an involved and productive employee. If it’s been a while since you took some time to think about hiring and onboarding in a strategic way, then this session is for you! Booksellers who have developed processes around these critical bookstore procedures will share hiring and onboarding strategies for bookstores of all sizes. (Managers)

Featuring: Remember - Joy  Harjo, Michaela  Goade; The Real Dada Mother Goose - Jon  Scieszka; No Sweet Without Brine - Cynthia  Manick; The Wet Hex - Sun Yung  Shin; Village - LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs; Common Grace - Aaron  Caycedo-Kimura; Short Film Starring My Beloved's Red Bronco - K.  Iver; Your Kingdom - Eleni  Sikelianos; Relinquenda - Alexandra  Regalado; apocrifa - Amber  Flame; I am Kavi - Thushanthi  Ponweera; Binded - H  Warren; Quiet Night Think - Gillian  Sze; A Warning About Swans - R. M.  Romero; Galápagos: Islands of Change - Leslie  Bulion; Side Notes From The Archivist - Anastacia-Renee; Bread and Circus - Airea D.  Matthews