Conversation Threads: Bookstores in Small and Tourist Towns
Operating an independent bookstore in a small tourist town has its own special challenges. Here are five key points to assist in working in a niche area. These are simply guidelines and topics that you should visit many times over while operating your store.
- Work with your Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Bureau – If you have a well-functioning visitor bureau, it can be impressive the information they can provide you to help with your business.
- Learn WHO your demographic is.
- Average ages of visitors to your community – are the all boomers? Young families? Singles or couples?
- What are the three main regions your visitors come from? Do you have a tri-state area? Which big cities? This will have an impact on which sports teams you represent in your store (for example, we’re in Wisconsin, but we get far more Vikings fans in Bayfield than Packers fans during the busy season!).
- What is the average income/education level of your average visitor? This can help you make choices on many inventory selections.
- What are the most popular reasons your visitors come to your area? History? Sports? Arts and Music? Outdoor Adventure? Relaxation? It could be a combination of all of these things, but it still helps to know!
- Talk to your neighbors – This advice goes far beyond knowing who is in the buildings on either side of you. Explore your entire retail area in your community. Know who sells what. Who else is carrying books or comparable sidelines? This information is valuable for two big reasons:
- First, bookstores in small towns are often seen as a place where people “know things.” Unless your visitor center is front and center in your town, you are frequently asked questions about where the closest ice cream is; or who in town might sell children’s swimsuits. Don’t get frustrated by these questions. Answer them with a smile, maybe ask them questions in return about their visit. Trust me… this can convert to sales because they will remember that really nice person at the bookstore who helped them!
- Secondly, knowing what your neighbors sell will feed you with plenty of ideas of what to sell, and frankly, what NOT to sell.
- Have a strong regional/local interest section – This section should be as prevalent in your store as your new releases and best sellers. You can subdivide this section in many ways depending on the interests of your visitors. Do you have a strong environmentally conscious visitor? Make sure books that would interest them are near the front of the store. Local/Regional authors should always have a dedicated section with plenty of face outs.
- Talk to your fellow booksellers! This piece of advice can not be taken enough. We have been in business for 10 years and we are still reaching out to other small stores to see how they’re handling different situations.
- Just remember, we’re set in a slightly different mold – This last point fits with #4. When you see other stores pre-ordering cases of a book that is projected to be one of the hottest sellers of the year, really think about it before you do the same. How many copies of that book will you sell to people on vacation? Maybe more! Likely far fewer. Your store’s focus, while impacted by, is not necessarily driven by the “national trends.”