DIFFICULT CHAPTER CONTINUES FOR INDEPENDENT BOOKSHOPS
FROM the very outset it became clear that businesses would have to adapt to lockdowns if they were to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s something which local bookseller Wally O’Neill of Red Books has done his best to do.
When restrictions dictated he close the doors of his shop in St Peter’s Square, he began the arduous task of cataloguing a massive array of books and listing them for sale online.
However, the fact is that in some cases the move online is not a seamless one. For Wally, it puts him into the arena of competing with giants like Amazon and The Book Depository. With the best will in the world, it’s a war he cannot win.
‘I suppose we were in the unusual position that our shop in St Peter’s Square had only opened in August 2019 (having moved in from Bridgetown), so we were still building up our customer base when all this hit,’ he said. ‘We had new people coming in every day and overnight that stopped. It’s very hard to stand out online.’
In general, a bookshop is one of few retailers where the customers could walk in the doors not having a clue what they want and leave with a bag full of items.
‘The experience of the shop just cannot be replicated online,’ Wally said.
‘I’ve tried moving online, but really it’s a one man operation. I’ve managed to get around 5,000 books up on the website, but that’s only a part of what we have. Then you’re trying to find things and stuff gets mislaid. It’s not like an Amazon warehouse where there’s an army of workers locating items and shipping them out.’
It’s not all negative, however.
‘Well one advantage we have over these big sellers is we can bulk-post multiple titles. Also, we’re more fortunate than some other businesses, I suppose, because people are stuck at home and they are looking for books to read, so the demand is there. We don’t want to be an Amazon though. We’re not a book warehouse and the feeling of a visit to the shop can’t be replicated.’
When Wally will be able to welcome loyal customers into the shop and host literary events again is unclear.
With Taoiseach Micheál Martin saying ‘substantial restrictions’ are likely to remain until the end of April, he could face a wait.
‘All we can do is keep going as we are and wait and see,’ he says.
‘Sometimes with the online stuff it can be really busy. But then you’ll have a couple of days when no orders come in and you’re checking to see if the website is broken and you start to panic a bit.
‘In nine weeks time, we’ll have spent nine months closed out of a year. We’ve already lost one independent bookshop as a result of the lockdown in Zozimus in Gorey. Even if we could offer click and collect services again, that would be some help.’