Indies Meet the Holidays Head-On With Shop Local Promos, Regional Handsells & More

Independent booksellers across the country are using an array of Shop Local promotions, social media outlets, holiday catalogs, IndieBound marketing materials, and unique handsells to face another challenging holiday retail season. And, though the Black Friday weekend often draws shoppers from Main Street to big box stores and malls, booksellers who spoke to BTW this week were generally pleased with their November sales and optimistic about the weeks to come.

November sales were up at the 2,700-square-foot Beehive Books, which is now heading into its third Christmas season in Delaware, Ohio. "Sales over Thanksgiving were as good as last year," said Mel Corroto, the store's co-owner and manager. "We've been gradually picking up since early November with some early Christmas shoppers. Overall, this November was a little better than last November."

In terms of holiday marketing, Beehive and a children's bookstore in Delaware jointly distributed the regional Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association holiday catalog, featuring a "Buy Local" message, to 9,000 homes in the area. "There have been several stories in the local papers about the shopping atmosphere in our downtown that mention [area] stores by name," Corroto said. Main Street Delaware sponsors a "First Friday" event every month, "and the December one has a lot of activities to bring people into our downtown area," such as carriage rides, Santa's workshop, and a tree lighting, she said.

The store uses Twitter and Facebook to announce extended holiday hours or to "shout out hot titles or invite people to come in to shop during the holidays and mention what's going on in our downtown," Corroto said.

In addition to the usual bestsellers by Dan Brown, Ted Kennedy, Sarah Palin, and Stephen King, titles moving at Beehive this holiday season include The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-Stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds by Joe Posnanski (William Morrow) and The Spire by Richard North Patterson (Henry Holt). Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story by Wally Lamb (Harper) is also "picking up," reported Corroto.

BayShore Books in Oconto, Wisconsin, has had a good start to the holiday shopping season, said Cathy Allard. "Our sales Thanksgiving weekend, and since, have been the best we've had since we opened in 2005," she told BTW. "Typically sales improve as we get closer to Christmas -- it seems the majority of our customers are last-minute shoppers."

Oconto, a city of around 4,000 people, "is located on a rural highway along a scenic route, kind of off the beaten path," said Allard, "but we are gaining new customers every week. We are the first business as you enter town, so I'm sure that helps."

On December 4 and 5, the Oconto community is holding its Customer Appreciation Days. "We ran ads in the local newspaper as a group, with each of us offering discounts," Allard said. "At BayShore Books, we are also collecting toys and books for a local charity's Christmas Toy Program. On those two days, not only are we offering a discount for donations purchased here, we are also donating one new book for each donation purchased."

BayShore promotes itself through social media sites such as Facebook,Twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn. "We use these sites to announce different events and specials in the store, but also to share articles and reviews our customers may be interested in," said Allard. "It's a great way to get conversations going and to learn more about our customers and what they are looking for. We have had customers contact us through these sites to special order books to be picked up in the store, and these are generally first-time customers."

Thus far, children's and teen books, including the Twilight series (Stephenie Meyer, Little, Brown for Young Readers) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Jeff Kinney, Amulet), have been BayShore's biggest sellers this year. "This came as a surprise," Allard explained. "In such a small town, I thought the market would be saturated by now."

Local interest titles are also doing well. "One local favorite, Victoria Houston, has been visiting BayShore Books every year since we opened, and she always draws a big crowd," Allard said. "She will be back on December 18 for the 10th book in her Loon Lake Mystery Series. We've never had an author event this close to the holidays, and on a Friday night too, so it should be interesting to see what kind of turnout we get."

Another surprise, said Allard, is the number of hardcover fiction titles that BayShore is selling this year, including The Lacuna (Barbara Kingsolver, Harper) and I, Alex Cross (James Patterson, Little, Brown). "With the big discounts online, we didn't expect to sell many. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies [Quirk] is also a big hit."

At 1,200-square-foot Reading Rock Books in Dickson, Tennessee, Laura Hill reported that store sales were slightly better on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving than on Black Friday. "We're in a downtown area that isn't near a mall," Hill explained, noting that the store is located between a trendy coffee shop and a fashion accessories store. "It seemed like everyone that came in on Wednesday was in the mood to buy something. By Friday, we had a lot of people who just looked."

Dickson's downtown business association annual open house will be on Friday, December 4, and Hill expects that to really boost sales.

In terms of promoting the store, Hill makes use of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and MailChimp to spread the word about all sales and events. "We'll continue this through the holidays, including an animated Christmas card to thank customers for their continued support of our young store," she noted.

As for top sellers at Reading Rock this holiday season, The Tennessee Night Before Christmas (E.J. Sullivan, Larry Eldredge, Sweetwater Press) "sells well for us," Hill said. "It's a funny gift for adults, but it's still good for kids. This sells especially well to customers who are mailing gifts to relatives in other states. Doodles at Lunch [by Deborah Zemke, Blue Apple Books] is also doing well."

At Beaverdale Books in Des Moines, Iowa, owner Alice Meyer noted that Saturday, December 5, will be a big day for the store and community. The Beaverdale Neighborhood Association is having its annual "Shop Hop" from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

"Stores have promotions and events, there will be carolers, Santa, a live nativity scene, and free hot chocolate," said Meyer. The bookstore, which is located in a plaza in an older, walkable neighborhood, is hosting a local children's illustrator from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and will give out free 2010 BookLover's Page-a-Day calendars with every purchase. The store is also sponsoring a gift-wrapping station as a fundraiser for the high-school band parents. "It's always a busy day for us," she added.

This holiday season, Beaverdale Books will be focusing on local authors and regional titles. "We always do well with our local authors," Meyer said. "Six of our top 10 sellers for November were local authors. The regional catalog also does well for us." The Lacuna [Barbara Kingsolver, Harper] and What the Dog Saw [Malcolm Gladwell, Little, Brown] are selling well, and Nubs [Brian Dennis, et al., Little, Brown Young Readers] is "starting to take off," she noted. "I can't say that we're selling any sleepers, but we still love The Help [Kathryn Stockett, Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam]!"

Thus far, Beaverdale's sales have been relatively flat compared to last year. "Last November, we had a huge event for Dewey, so we were a little spoiled," Meyer said. "But if we factor that out, this November was a little better than last year. Thanksgiving weekend sales were ever-so-slightly behind last year, which had me a little nervous."

That Bookstore in Blytheville (Arkansas) is participating in a Main Street Blytheville promotion. A bookmark was given out at the Lights of the Delta festival, reported Mary Gay Shipley. Customers bring the bookmark into downtown stores for a "deal," she said. Many bookmarks were distributed at the festival, and though only a few had been returned thus far, Shipley stressed it's "still early."

Thus far, top sellers at That Bookstore include The Man Who Invented Christmas by Les Standiford (Crown), Ford County by John Grisham (Doubelday), and The Jungle Grapevine by Alex Beard (Abrams Books for Young Readers).

Books Inc., in various locations primarily in Northern California, is "staying fairly basic ... and stressing really good customer service," said store co-owner and director of marketing and human resources Margie Scott Tucker. "We do have several in-store school book fairs scheduled, a few events until the 15th, a few e-mail blasts, and a coupon for the weekend of December 12 and 13." On its IndieCommerce site, the store has actively promoted the option of shopping online and picking up titles at any of the Books Inc. locations.

Books Inc. is using Facebook and Twitter to varying degrees at its different stores. "No massive campaigns," said Scott Tucker, "but both Chestnut Street in San Francisco and the new Berkeley store are having success with announcing events, books, etc."

Books Inc.'s Black Friday was comparable with past years, said Scott Tucker. "Sales were good, but it's never been our strongest day of the season. Some stores had a better Saturday and Sunday than Friday."

About Books Inc. bestsellers, she said, "The Elegance of the Hedgehog [Muriel Barbery, Alison Anderson, trans., Europa Editions] celebrated its 60th week in our total top 10, and Audrey Shafer's The Mailbox [Yearling] beat out Eclipse and Twilight combined. Andre Agassi and Malcom Gladwell are duking it out for the number-one slot in nonfiction."

At the Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lyndhurst, Ohio, staff spent the last Monday of November restocking displays, said book team leader Megan Fecko, and took a "break from the overhead holiday music." Over the Black Friday weekend, the store saw a number of "preferred customers shopping with Gives Back catalogs in-hand, and taking advantage of special member discounts on fiction titles, Playmobil sets, and the hottest item of the season, Ugly Dolls." Gives Back is the store's loyalty program that offers membership discounts and contributions to local charities. "Each week, we will feature a new set of coupons for select items throughout the store, exclusively for our Gives Back members," said Fecko.

The many "awesome new titles" this season has strengthened Joseph-Beth's hardcover sales, she added. "We are selling anything with Malcolm Gladwell's name on it, and The Lost Symbol has never fallen off of our bestseller list," Fecko said. "Shooting Stars by LeBron James [Penguin Press], our autographed copies of Michael Symon's Live to Cook [Clarkson Potter], and the Milan Jacovitch series by Les Roberts drive our local section. Fun titles like Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, F U, Penguin [Matthew Gasteier, Villard], and Nightlight [The Harvard Lampoon, Vintage] are moving in large quantities and still eliciting laughter from everyone who flips through them." Joseph-Beth has also created a number of displays, including "Customer Choice Best of 2009," "New York Times 100 Notable Titles," and "NPR Best Of."

Fecko said that Joseph-Beth has "a very positive outlook for this holiday season." Several authors, including Jonathan Knight, author of Classic Cavs: The 50 Greatest Games in Cleveland Cavaliers History (Kent State University Press), are coming in to help them ring out 2009. "We know we have to be prepared for our customers, which means having the right quantities on tables, knowing what's hitting the bestseller lists, winning awards, and, most importantly, knowing what our customers are looking for even if all they say is, 'I just need a good book for my (fill in the blank).'"

In Southern California, Mrs. Nelson's Toy and Book Shop in La Verne, California, is using e-mail, its website, and specially created fliers and bookmarks to promote key events. "We made and printed a bookmark highlighting our Black Friday event," said general manager Andrea Vuleta, "and added it to each purchase during the early part of November. We have made smaller fliers for other events, such as our Stocking Stuffer Sale, and our senior citizens event." The bookstore distributes the fliers in senior centers, churches, daycare centers, and elsewhere. The store's website also promotes events, as well as gift recommendations (both books and toys) arranged by age group.

Mrs. Nelson's is collaborating with other local indie businesses to bring customers to the area. "We are spearheading a special Indie/Shop Local event in which we will be raffling off gift cards from local businesses for a week," said Vuleta. "Anyone that visits the store can enter. We have provided gift cards in turn for those businesses to use."

Black Friday seems to be unremarkable for many indie booksellers, but that was not the case for Mrs. Nelson's. "This was the best Black Friday we have had. Ever," said Vuleta. "More than triple any other Black Friday." To draw customers into the store, Mrs. Nelson's extended its hours and offered discounts early and late. "The giant sales were toys, but the books were steady," she said. "Normally in the holiday season toy sales shoot way up and are the majority of business for December. However, books were a good 46 percent of our volume that day, and considering that dollhouses or trains start at $100, you can see that lots of books have to be sold to compete."

School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), Lego Brickmaster titles from DK, and a broad range of "boy-friendly" titles sold well over the weekend, Vuleta said, thanks, in part, "to the amount of effort we put into highlighting boy-friendly titles in October." Mrs. Nelson's also featured a number of displays pairing books with toys and other items.

Eagle Harbor Book Company on Bainbridge Island, Washington, is promoting holiday sales with the insertion of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association holiday catalog in The Islander, a weekly newspaper delivered to every home and business on the island. The store is also featuring holiday catalog titles in its window displays, as well as catalog illustrations throughout the store.

Over the Black Friday weekend, Eagle Harbor took part in "Home for the Holidays," a Shop Local neighborhood event, sponsored by the Bainbridge Downtown Association. The bookstore offered discounts on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and extended store hours. It is also hosting an open house on Thursday, December 3, offering additional discounts.

Eagle Harbor is working with the local sustainable business network, Sustainable Bainbridge, emphasizing its "green" products and services, and offering advice on the advantages of Sony eReaders over the Kindle or other proprietary products.

Eagle Harbor's sales were up on Black Friday, thanks in part to a customer who wrote a letter to the editor of a local newspaper about the importance of supporting local businesses. Eagle Harbor was mentioned specifically, as well as the financial plight of other area bookstores. The letter as well as a resulting article on the store, an interview with owner Morley Horder in the Bainbridge Review, and an event with Amy Goodman for her new book, Breaking the Sound Barrier (Haymarket Books), also helped increased sales.

Fact & Fiction in Missoula, Montana, is using IndieBound's "Peace Love Books" and "Eat Sleep Read" materials as part of its holiday marketing campaign, said store founder and manager Barbara Theroux. The "Peace Love Books" icon is featured on the store's website and a link below it directs customers to instructions for creating an IndieBound Wish List.

Theroux also mentioned that she was excited about Random House's personal shopper service, part of its Books = Gifts campaign, which offers personalized gift ideas to booksellers and consumers every Friday through December 18.

Fact & Fiction has stepped up its social media efforts with the recent launch of a store blog, which, along with its Facebook page, also directs customers to the IndieBound Wish List. In addition, the bookstore is partnering with Missoula's Downtown Association on a holiday ad campaign.

Black Friday was "good but nothing spectacular," said Theroux. Shopping at Fact & Fiction gets "serious" from the first weekend of December on. "Santa arrives in downtown Missoula on Saturday, December 5. We'll have lots of events and in-store signings," she said. They're also having a fundraiser for the Missoula Cultural Council. "On the down side," she said, "the University of Montana football team is now in playoffs for division championships ... so football mania will overshadow anything else on Saturday!"

Overall, Theroux was optimistic about December. "We are having holiday fever," she said. "Let's hope the good vibes continue!" --David Grogan and Karen Schechner