We’re back with the fourth instalment in our series of posts highlighting how Canadian retailers and publishers are responding to social distancing measures and the changes put in place due to COVID-19. This week, our interview with Ben and Doug Minett from The Bookshelf!
The Bookshelf opened its doors in 1973 and has since established itself as an icon of culture and togetherness in Guelph, Ontario. The Bookshelf is not only a bookstore and a favourite spot for literary readings that have featured authors such as Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Karen Armstrong, Al Purdy, Ann-Marie Macdonald, and many others; it is also a cinema, music store, and a cafe/restaurant. In their own words: “A bookstore that shows movies, a cinema that serves dinner, a resto-bar that launches books.”
1. How have you adapted your business in response to COVID-19? Are there particular initiatives that you'd like to share?
Just days before the lockdown, we were in the final phases of shifting our website buy button from Shopify to Snipcart. The day before the quarantine our website became fully functional for online selling.
Before the pandemic, our website was primarily used for people to check cinema listings or customers checking our inventory. At the [same] time that Amazon de-prioritized book delivery, and Indigo's online store was inundated with orders, The Bookshelf decided to offer free same day delivery to customers in Guelph.
The day before Trudeau announced the wide spread shutdown of the Canadian economy, we announced pre-emptively that we would be shutting our doors to the public and offering free delivery for phone and online orders in Guelph to try to flatten the curve. Check out our public statement here.
The response from our customers was incredible. We have delivered books to every corner of Guelph and people were also using our curbside pick-up option.
2. Will you continue with any of these initiatives or business practices when brick-and-mortar bookstores reopen to customers?
We will be continuing free delivery in Guelph after the lockdown is lifted and we are back to a semblance of normalcy.
3. Have you noticed a shift in book-buying habits amongst your customers?
The most prominent shift in our customers' book buying habits has been how they interact with our website. Since we shut our doors, they were obviously not able to browse in a traditional fashion. Instead, they have browsed some of our recommended books and articles on our website and also have searched and browsed our hot linked subjects.
Funnily enough, we also added local wine delivery to our offering and people were buying novels, new non-fiction and a cab sauv or pinot gris.
4. Have you experimented with new tools or technologies during COVID-19? Do you anticipate continuing to use these?
The buy button on our website was a day old when we had to switch our business model so we had to be quite nimble with our training and systems. Zoom meetings have also become a mainstay for our sales meetings with publisher reps as well as communicating with other booksellers across the country.
The most fascinating technological experience we have seen is not how we use our technology but how customers have been using our technology.
5. What is your biggest takeaway from working as a bookseller while physical-distancing measures have been in place?
Adapting to rapidly changing conditions is an essential skill of a bookseller in 2020.
Looking to support independent retailers in your area? Rocky Mountain Books' publisher, Don Gorman, has created a map of indie booksellers across Canada who are currently offering delivery and / or curb-side pickup.
Got a story about how your organization has responded to COVID-19? We want to hear from you! Please fill out this short questionnaire.
The BISAC to Thema translator has been updated.