Boosted by the surprise rebound in sales at the time of deconfinement, booksellers, however, remain cautious in the face of more “
erratic
”
behavior
from their customers, which is pushing them to reinvent themselves in anticipation of the end of year celebrations.
"
I take as a tremendous dose of vitamin what has happened for four months, it's a great boost,
" said the president of the union of the French bookstore Xavier Moni.
"
It seems that we are falling back on our feet, we can say that the recovery is generally positive
."
It must be said that since March 14 and the closure of almost all bookstores in France due to the confinement imposed by the coronavirus epidemic the situation has changed considerably.
Admittedly, booksellers saw their turnover collapse on average by 95% during this period, raising the specter of a hemorrhage in this reputedly economically fragile sector.
But since the reopening in May, morale has been high among professionals who have seen the first days and weeks an influx of customers rushing home to refill their books.
"
We had a lot of people, often with very strong testimonies, some told us I reserved my first deconfinement visit for you
," recalls Anne-Laure Vial, co-founder of the "
Ici
"
bookstore
, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris.
"
There was a thirst for reading, a lot of people said we have nothing left, they bought whole batteries, a Christmas effect for a few weeks,
" she adds.
“
Then the summer was a little quieter
”.
Towards the "
puzzle
" of the end of the year holidays
For sociologist Vincent Chabault, this economic rebound in the bookstore market can be explained both by a "
catching up
" of private readers of books during confinement but also by a more militant act.
There may be "
a form of responsible cultural consumption, attentive to proximity, expertise, advice, animation in bookstores, and the coming months will tell us if this form of committed consumption has taken hold
" .
Booksellers, too, are cautious.
If they can count on the support fund of 25 million euros voted in July by the National Book Center (CNL), they must deal with teleworking which has shaken up the habits of their customers.
"
Our flows are distributed differently, the highlights of the week in bookstores before it was Saturday, now this is not necessarily the case
", notes Xavier Moni.
"
We have people but it's erratic
", abounds Anne-Laure Vial.
"
It is difficult to project, we are in a daily life where things are going rather well, we are thinking at the same time about the aftermath, we are preparing for Christmas
", she adds.
Preparing for the end of the year holidays, a strategic period for bookstores, is shaping up to be a real headache.
How to meet customer expectations while respecting barrier gestures and taking into account last minute purchases, synonymous with queues?
"
It is a matter of concern, I do not see how we will be able to accommodate as many people as what we normally welcome in December,
" notes Xavier Moni.
"
Are we going to extend our opening hours?
Are we going to promote online purchase and in-store pick-up?
"
Same questioning concerning the meetings organized with the authors, especially during the literary re-entry period.
At the "
Here
"
bookshop
, only about forty people were welcomed in mid-September with the writer Lola Lafon on the occasion of her last novel "
Chavirer
", against 100 in normal times.
A "
face-
to-
face
"
gauge
revised downwards which pushes booksellers to reinvent the format.
"
We broadcast live, it makes things come alive and it gives visibility to the book and to the author,
" notes Anne-Laure Vial.
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